David Drahi is a Director of Altice USA Inc

David Drahi has served as director of Altice USA Inc for nearly 18 months.

He is also the director and 10 percent owner of Next Alt S.a.r.l.

He is a billionaire businessman with assets across France, Portugal, Israel and the Caribbean. He ranks among the world’s 200 richest people.

Early Life and Education

Born in Casablanca, Morocco to parents who were math teachers, Drahi moved to France at 15 years old. After attending the esteemed Ecole Polytechnique school of engineering, he went on to build his fortune as an entrepreneur by purchasing large phone companies with aggressive acquisition strategies.

Drahi has chosen to remain low-profile and private despite his considerable wealth. A French-Israeli billionaire with dual citizenships, he currently resides in Switzerland where he pursues art collecting with great passion.

After purchasing Altice in 2001, he went on a buying spree and built it into one of Europe’s largest telecom companies. Unfortunately, in 2017 his acquisitions caused Altice to incur around EUR50 billion worth of debt – effectively crippling his expansion plans.

Professional Career

David Drahi is an acclaimed telecommunications guru with an impressive list of businesses. He’s the mastermind behind Europe’s multibillion dollar cable television business and also invests heavily in the rapidly growing mobile phone sector.

His impressive credentials include a bachelor’s degree from the esteemed Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne, Switzerland and a doctorate from Oxford. He is the founder and chairman of Altice Europe – an impressive holding company that owns several cable companies across continental Europe.

He has earned a reputation as a risk-taker and is renowned for his knack for acquisitions, particularly in cable. Additionally, he is an active philanthropist and avid golfer. A proud father of four children with two homes in Amsterdam and Geneva, he was recently recognized by the French government as one of the 100 most influential people in French telecommunications.

Achievements and Honors

Drahi is one of the world’s richest cable barons. He has constructed an empire in France that includes Altice, a Dutch company with a stock-market value of $28 billion.

He founded his first cable business, Sud Cable Services, in 1994 and sold its assets for 5 percent ownership of UPC, a Dutch subsidiary of Liberty Global which he ran as their Western Europe business.

After two years, he sold his stake to found Altice and has since acquired multiple French cable companies. His most recent purchase, SFR – a major mobile operator put up for sale by Vivendi early last year; he won with a 13.4 billion euro bid.

Drahi feels a responsibility to give back to his community after success. With his wife Lina, he and Drahi established a foundation that supports science & education, Israel & Jewish People, entrepreneurialism & innovation, as well as arts.

Personal Life

Drahi was born in Morocco but moved with his family to France when he was a teenager. A graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale Superieure de Telecommunications, he began his professional career with Philips Group in 1988.

He was instrumental in the establishment of private cable networks in Spain and France, as well as launching commercial TV stations across Eastern Europe. Later he joined US/Scandinavian group Kinnevik-Millisat and created numerous French cable companies which eventually formed Altice.

He is a serene billionaire who defers to only his closest advisers. Additionally, he is an ardent philanthropist with an eye for art and masterpieces; additionally, his foundation supports scientific research, education, entrepreneurship and innovation.

Net Worth

Telecoms mogul Patrick Drahi is the founder and majority owner of multinational telecommunications firm Altice, which he took private in January 2021 for $7.3 billion in valuation.

He built Altice with a buy-low, sell high strategy, purchasing underperforming cable operators in countries such as France, Israel and Portugal. Afterwards he expanded through debt-driven deals like 2014’s acquisition of Vivendi’s SFR division and 2015’s takeover of cable operator Suddenlink in the United States.

His net worth is estimated to be over $10 billion, making him the 60th richest person worldwide and third richest person in France according to Forbes.