Bernard Tapie obituary
05-Oct-2021 19:53:46 | The Guardian
Controversial French businessman whose career was beset by scandal, including tax fraud and football match-fixing
As a businessman and would-be actor, Bernard Tapie played many roles during a rollercoaster career that embraced success and scandal in almost equal measure. The flamboyant Frenchman, who has died aged 78 of cancer, was a shrewd entrepreneur, a star of screen and stage, politician, government minister, president of Olympique de Marseille football club, television presenter, owner of a successful cycling club and a press baron.
Champion to some, charlatan to others, his displayed talents that were many and varied, but not always within the law, even if he always denied any wrongdoing. The elephant in the eulogies following his death was his recurring relationship with French justice, notably convictions for football match-fixing and tax fraud that resulted in him spending several months in jail.
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