Patrick Drahi Net Worth

Patrick Drahi has an estimated net worth of $7.7 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Patrick Drahi profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is down from a peak of $11.8 billion.

Patrick Drahi is a French billionaire known for building Altice, a telecom group with cable, mobile, media, and auction house holdings. After postgraduate study, he worked at Philips as a fibre optics researcher, then left in 1990 to start his own business. In 1994 he founded Sud Câble Services in France, laying cable systems for towns in the south. He sold that company in 1998 and later used the proceeds to keep expanding in telecom.

In 2001, Drahi launched the Amsterdam-based holding company Altice and started buying cable companies in Europe. He later founded Numericable in France and in 2013 bought SFR from Vivendi. His reach grew again in 2015 when Altice entered the U.S. by buying a 70% stake in Suddenlink for $9 billion and then Cablevision for $17.7 billion. Those American assets were later spun into Altice USA, which went public in June 2017.

How Patrick Drahi built his fortune

Drahi made his money mainly through telecom. He built Altice through more than 20 acquisitions of struggling cable and mobile operators, then kept expanding with highly leveraged deals. In France, he developed Numericable and added SFR in 2013. He also owns HOT and founded the international news channel i24news in 2013. His business style centered on buying, combining, and reshaping telecom assets across several markets.

His wealth also connects to major ownership stakes outside core telecom networks. He owns Sotheby's and took the auction house private in 2019. In January 2021, he took Altice NV private at a $7.3 billion valuation after an offer to minority shareholders. He also bought into BT Group in 2021, spending about $4.2 billion for an 18% stake, then later sold that holding to Bharti Global.

Forbes net worth snapshot

Forbes put Patrick Drahi at $7.7 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker as of October 20, 2026. That estimate follows years in which his fortune moved up and down while Altice kept changing shape through deals, spinouts, and private ownership moves. His standing is tied closely to telecom assets, especially Altice, plus large holdings such as Sotheby's and his past stake in BT Group.

Several transactions help explain why his wealth story gets attention. Altice USA went public in June 2017 after the U.S. cable purchases of Suddenlink and Cablevision. Sotheby's was taken private in 2019. Altice NV was taken private in 2021. Drahi also used big bets, including the BT purchase and later sale. Forbes places him in telecom and describes him as self-made, reflecting how his fortune was built through dealmaking and ownership.