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Draft:Félix Marquardt

Félix Marquardt

Félix Marquardt (born 5 January 1975 in Paris) is a French essayist, former international relations consultant, entrepreneur, rap producer, and strategic adviser.[1]

Biography

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Félix Marquardt was born on 5 January 1975 into a wealthy, cultured, and cosmopolitan family. His father, Alexander Marquardt (1946–2023), was an Austro-German corporate lawyer working for an American law firm in Paris, while his mother, Nikki Diana Marquardt, was an American art gallery owner on the Place des Vosges.[1][2]

He studied in several Parisian schools, including Bossuet, Stanislas, the École alsacienne, and Lycée Charlemagne, before moving to the United States to study history and philosophy at Syracuse University and later Columbia University, which he left without obtaining a degree.[1][2]

After returning to France in 1998, he founded the rap label Kohiba Productions. At the same time, Kohiba Multimedia specialized in internet search optimization for pornographic websites.[3] The company ceased operations in 2000 following legal action involving Bertrand Delanoë, whose name had been used without consent. Kohiba Multimedia was ordered to pay 120,000 francs in damages.[4]

Marquardt converted to Islam in the 2000s in order to marry his Tunisian-Maltese Muslim wife, initially as a formality, before later becoming a practicing believer.[5][2]

Between 2000 and 2004, he worked as a speechwriter for Agnès Touraine at Vivendi Universal Publishing. During the same period, he briefly interned at L'Oréal, contributing to speeches for then-CEO Lindsay Owen-Jones.[6]

From 2004 to 2006, he served as communications director of the International Herald Tribune in Paris.[7][2] He later publicly admitted that the résumé used to obtain the position had been falsified.[1]

In late 2009, Marquardt launched the Atlantic Dinners, followed in 2013 by the Emerging Dinners during the World Economic Forum in Davos. Over the course of his career, he hosted figures including Bill Gates, Mario Vargas Llosa, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Juan Manuel Santos, Bernard Kouchner, Nouriel Roubini, and Muhammad Yunus.[1][6]

During the second half of the 2010s, he withdrew for several years from the media spotlight due to personal struggles with addiction.[2][8]

In 2020, he co-founded the movement Black Elephant.[9]

Marquardt has written regularly for French newspapers including Le Figaro, Le Monde, and Libération, as well as international publications such as The New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, Die Welt, El País, and Haaretz.[1]

Communications and networking

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Atlantic Dinners

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Marquardt founded the Atlantic Dinners in 2009 with the goal of facilitating interaction between French elites and international networks.[10]

The first edition took place on 24 October 2009 under the patronage of Éric Woerth, with guests including Nicolas Baverez and economist Nouriel Roubini.[6]

The dinners brought together political leaders, business executives, artists, and entrepreneurs in highly publicized networking events.

In October 2010, during the fifth edition of the dinners, Marquardt hosted Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan, alongside leading French business figures including Christophe de Margerie, Patrick Kron, Gérard Mestrallet, and Anne Lauvergeon.[11]

Emerging Time Dinners

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Launched during the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2013, the Emerging Time Dinners succeeded the Atlantic Dinners and aimed to create dialogue between Northern and Southern elites.[10]

Reform of Islam

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Following the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks, Marquardt began collaborating with imam Mohammed Bajrafil to promote a more reformist and modern interpretation of Islam.[12]

He published several opinion pieces advocating reform in publications such as Le Huffington Post, Le Point, Le Journal du Dimanche, and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

He later co-founded the World Forum for the Reform of Islam together with Ghaleb Bencheikh, Adnan Ibrahim, Asma Lamrabet, and Mohammed Bajrafil. The initiative advocated a democratic and reformist interpretation of Islam.[13][5]

Youthonomics

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In 2015, Marquardt founded the think tank Youthonomics, which publishes the Youthonomics Global Index, ranking countries according to indicators such as education, employment access, and youth optimism.

Essayist

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Black Elephant

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In 2020, Marquardt co-founded the movement Black Elephant, which emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic and called for renewed debate about globalization, economic growth, and the sustainability of modern society.[9]

He subsequently published a number of opinion pieces criticizing aspects of global capitalism and institutions such as the World Economic Forum.[14]

In November 2021, Marquardt co-authored an op-ed in Les Échos warning of the possible rise of Éric Zemmour in the 2022 French presidential election, comparing his candidacy to those of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro.[15]

The New Nomads

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Marquardt's book The New Nomads: How the Migration Revolution Is Making the World a Better Place was published in 2021. Partly autobiographical, the book explores migration and nomadism through the stories of contemporary migrants and global mobility.[14]

Controversies

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Barrez-vous

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In 2012, Marquardt co-authored a controversial opinion piece in Libération encouraging young French people to leave France in search of opportunities abroad.[16]

The article generated significant public debate and media coverage. Critics accused Marquardt of promoting elitism and defeatism, while supporters viewed the message as an encouragement toward international openness and mobility.

In 2013, he expanded on these themes in an article for The New York Times, describing France as a "gerontocratic, ultra-centralized and sclerotic" society.[17]

Personal life

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Marquardt is the father of three children.[2]

Publications

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  • Barrez-vous: 99 bons plans pour venir voir ailleurs si t'y es (2013)
  • The New Nomads: How the Migration Revolution Is Making the World a Better Place (2021)

In literature

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In L'Année du coq de feu (2022) by Marc Lambron, Marquardt is described as "the Rameau’s Nephew of web culture".[2]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cite error: The named reference LesInrocks was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cite error: The named reference Le Figaro was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ↑ Cite error: The named reference LibePortrait was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ↑ "Bertrand Delanoë, pro du porno sans consentement". Libération. 3 August 2000.
  5. 1 2 Cite error: The named reference Telegraph_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. 1 2 3 Cite error: The named reference ProfilValAct was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ↑ Cite error: The named reference LatribunePortrait was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Vanity_01 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. 1 2 Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. 1 2 Cite error: The named reference Strategies was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ↑ "Le Tout-Paris se met à table avec un autocrate". Libération. 29 October 2010. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  12. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Le_Monde_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Le_Point_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. 1 2 Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ↑ "Opinion | Amis Français, ne tombez pas dans le piège de l'extrême droite !". Les Echos. 24 November 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  16. ↑ "Jeunes de France, votre salut est ailleurs : barrez-vous !". Libération. 3 September 2012. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  17. ↑ "The Best Hope for France's Young? Get Out". The New York Times. 29 June 2013.


Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:People from Paris Category:French essayists Category:French journalists Category:French businesspeople Category:Syracuse University alumni Category:Columbia University alumni Category:Converts to Islam

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