Alexandre Dreyfus was one of the first to see the opportunities offered by the internet, seizing the potential for new businesses in the 1990s.
It should be no surprise therefore that he was quick to take advantage of blockchain technology.
But what is the story behind the Chiliz crypto token founder? And what is his net worth?
Who is Alexandre Dreyfus?
Alexandre Dreyfus was born in Bordeaux, France in 1977. He attended
Lycee Jean Perrin high school between 1991 and 1995 before instantly getting down to business and setting up his own firm.
Shortly after graduating, Dreyfus set up Mediartis, a company that sought to capitalise on the early years of the internet.
On his LinkedIn profile, he describes Mediartis as “the first web-agency focused on the ‘communication side’ and not on the technology”.
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Two years later in 1997 the French entrepreneur began on his second venture, Webcity. He would go on to sell Mediartis shortly after.
Webcity, which was briefly named Cybergone, aimed to make the first online network of city travel guides. Over a six-year period, the company grew to a team of 80 people based in 12 cities in France as well as in Switzerland, UK, and Belgium.
Dreyfus’s initiative received significant investment with the Carrefour retail group and other prominent backers lending funds.
But in 2004, the now highly successful internet businessman had a new idea. Dreyfus along with two friends founded Winamax – France’s first online poker room and sports betting website.
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Today website generates more than $150million in revenue a year. Dreyfus, however, gets no benefits from the success of the company. Just two years after founding Winamax, he became bored again and quit, selling his shares at the same time.
Instead, he moved to Malta and set up Chiligaming, another online gambling website.
It wasn’t until 2017 that Dreyfus became involved in the blockchain space.
Just over five years ago, the Frenchman set up Chiliz, a company that aims to bring blockchain technology to the sports and entertainment industry.
Fans of sports teams are able to buy the Chiliz cryptocurrency token CHZ which gives them new ways to interact with the club.
Each team that partners with Chiliz can customise the real-world experiences their Fan Tokens provide to holders and give them voting rights on decisions such as new uniform designs, celebration songs, and stadium names.
Dreyfus secured $66million in investment for his company with backers including Binance, OK Blockchain Capital, and FBG Capital.
Shortly after setting up Chiliz, the French entrepreneur also founded Socios.com – the platform upon which CHZ operates.
The company already has partnerships with football clubs including FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan AS Roma, Atletico Madrid, and Galatasaray. A total of 25 NBA teams have also signed up.
According to Dreyfus the Socios and Chiliz is now a crypto-unicorn with an ecosystem that worth $3billion. He says it trades $1billion a day on major exchanges.
What is Alexandre Dreyfus’s net worth?
Alexandre Dreyfus’s net worth is estimated to be $450million. His wealth has been formed not via any one individual company he has founded but by the cumulative successes of his firms over the past 30 years.