AXA founder Claude Bébéar passes away

Claude Bébéar, founder of the AXA Group, passed away on 3 November 2025 at the age of 90.

A seasoned businessman, C. Bébéar began his career in insurance in 1958 at the age of 23, when he joined Anciennes Mutuelles.

Between 1964 and 1966, he left France for Canada, where he developed the life insurance business of Provinces Unies, a subsidiary of the Anciennes Mutuelles group.

In 1975, following the death of André Sahut d’Izarn, C. Bébéar was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Anciennes Mutuelles.

From 1977 to 1985, the foundations of what would become the AXA Group were laid through a series of mergers and acquisitions initiated by C. Bébéar.

In 1977, he founded Ancienne Mutuelle de Réassurance (AMRé), which became AXA Re in 1985, later renamed Paris Re that same year, before ultimately being acquired by PartnerRe in 2010.

In 1978, Anciennes Mutuelles became Mutuelles Unies. That same year, Mutuelle Parisienne de Garantie, a property and casualty insurer on the brink of bankruptcy, was integrated into the group.

In 1982, C. Bébéar took control of the Drouot group, an acquisition that positioned Mutuelles Unies as France’s leading private insurer, with C. Bébéar as its Chairman.

In 1985, the group officially adopted the name “AXA.” Following this rebranding, C. Bébéar stepped down from operational management of the insurance subsidiaries to assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of AXA. The group then continued its strategy of expansion and growth, ultimately becoming one of the world’s leading international insurance companies.

In 1988, C. Bébéar was named “Manager of the Year” by Le Nouvel Économiste.

In 2000, he handed over the chairmanship of AXA’s Management Board to Henri de Castries and became Chairman of the Supervisory Board, a position he held until 2008.

Upon reaching the statutory age limit of 70 for board membership, he became Honorary Chairman of AXA in April 2008.