Salma Hayek’s Husband Will Donate $113 Million to Help Rebuild Norte Dame
On Monday, a massive fire engulfed the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, destroying a spire and consuming its roof. The 13th century cathedral, which took nearly 200 hundred years, was home to Christian relics such as the crown of thorns placed on the head of Jesus Christ, a piece of wood from the cross he was crucified on, and nails from the cross.
While the fate of the holy relics are still unknown, firefighters were able to extinguish the fire after nine long hours.
Morning after #NotreDame pic.twitter.com/dY4274iKik
— Pini (@not_arealghost) April 16, 2019
Soon after news broke of the horrific fire, Salma Hayek‘s husband François-Henri Pinault pledged to donate $113 million to help rebuild the cathedral.
“The Notre-Dame tragedy strikes all French people, as well as all those with spiritual values. Faced with this tragedy, everyone wishes to bring this jewel of our heritage back to life as soon as possible,” the French businessman said in a statement. “Today, my father and I have committed to donate €100 million from the Artémis fund to take part in the effort needed to fully rebuild Notre-Dame de Paris.”
The incident also hit close to home for his Mexican wife, who played Esmeralda in 90’s film The Hunchback. The Latina took to Instagram to grieve the tragic blaze with a photo of the cathedral in flames. “As many others I’m in deep shock and sadness to witness the beauty of Notre-Dame turn into smoke. I love you Paris,” she captioned the photo.
Of course, Pinault wasn’t the only french billionaire to offer a helping hand for rebuilding effort. Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH Group, promised €200 million to rebuild the site.