Kyril Louis-Dreyfus
French businessman and football chairman (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus (born 18 December 1997)[1] is a Swiss-French businessman. He is a member of the French Louis-Dreyfus family, his parents being former successive owners of French football club Olympique de Marseille.[2]
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 December 1997 Zürich, Switzerland |
| Known for | Chairman and majority owner of Sunderland |
| Spouse |
Alexandra Nowikovsky
(m. 2021) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Robert Louis-Dreyfus Margarita Louis-Dreyfus |
| Relatives | Julia Louis-Dreyfus (paternal third cousin) |
On 18 February 2021, Louis-Dreyfus became the minority shareholder and Chairman of Premier League football club Sunderland, then in EFL League One.[3][4][5] In June 2022, after their promotion to the EFL Championship, he became the majority shareholder.
Early life
Louis-Dreyfus was born in Zürich, Switzerland.[6] He is the son of Robert Louis-Dreyfus and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus.[7]
In 2017, Louis-Dreyfus started studying sports and business management at the Leeds Beckett University for one year and moved to attend Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy (RIASA) for his second year.[8] He later dropped out due to injuries.[9]
Career
In 2021, he acquired a "controlling" stake in the then EFL League One club, Sunderland A.F.C., from its previous owner, Stewart Donald.[5][10] The acquisition made him the youngest chairman in English football.[11][12] On 15 February 2022, it was revealed that Louis-Dreyfus was not a majority shareholder of Sunderland as his stake in the club was only 41%, with the remaining 59% of shares made up of former owner Donald, and directors Charlie Methven and Juan Sartori.[13]
In June 2022, Louis-Dreyfus increased his shares in Sunderland from 41% to 51% - thus becoming majority & controlling shareholder - buying out Charlie Methven's 5%, and reducing Stewart Donald's percentage from 34% to 19%. Juan Sartori picked up the remainder of Donald's shares, increasing his holdings from 20% to 30%.
In May 2023, Stewart Donald's remaining shares were bought out by both Louis-Dreyfus and Sartori - Louis-Dreyfus increased his share holdings in Sunderland to 64%, whilst Sartori increase his to 36%. Many Sunderland supporters welcomed this news, bringing to a close the involvement of Donald and Methven in the football club.[14]
Louis-Dreyfus is also a 5% stakeholder of French football club, Marseille, and has stakes in E-sports organisation Ovation.[6][15]
On 24 May 2025, Sunderland achieved promotion to the Premier League after defeating Sheffield United 2-1 at Wembley Stadium in the 2025 EFL Championship play-off final with goals from Eliezer Mayenda and Tommy Watson, cancelling out Tyrese Campbell's first half goal. It took under 5 years, including two promotions in that time, to achieve the goal of getting Sunderland back into the Premier League from when he took over stewardship.[16]
Personal life
On 21 December 2021 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Louis-Dreyfus married his longtime girlfriend Alexandra Nowikovsky, the daughter of Sydney-born former Australian model Toneya Bird.[17] They announced the birth of their first child on 16 March 2024.[18]