Paul Ricard would have been 100 years old in July 2009. Creator of an empire and also an accomplished artist, the provencal industrialist has become famous all over the world.

However, we do not really know who the man in privacy was. His centennial, celebrated in 2009, was the opportunity to discover a patron of the arts who was also a painter artist. He was a pioneer of sustainable development. We talk about a kind-hearted man, devoted to sharing and action, a passionated aesthete and a fervent defender of nature.

When the brilliant builder Paul Ricard bought Bendor, in 1950, the only inhabitant of the island was a sheep.

At the pinnacle of glory, the visionary entrepreneur became the master of happenings who have welcomed celebrities and artists on his Island of Bendor.

Althought he was rebelling against the mass tourism, he has dedicated his life to change Bendor into a paradise on the sea, a place where it could be pleasant to stay among the artists, the lovers for romantic breakaway or amateurs of wildlife and the sea.

The year of 2009 was the commemoration of the Paul Ricard’s centennial, on his island.

“This island was a real passion for me, I built  here a miniature world and there was nothing there I could not do. I only had to  consider its surface area. The sky and the sea were the only limits of my dreams."

Extract from the text: Paul Ricard “La Passion de creer”.

Download the Paul Ricard Centenary press release (PDF format 1.16 Mo) Bendor and les Embiez Island (Var) celebrate Paul Ricard centenary ...(more)