The unique prince of the fashion tycoon: Hidden as a billionaire, living secretly, mysteriously

In 2011, model Linda Evangelista shocked the media when it was revealed that her son's father was French billionaire François-Henri Pinault. At this time, the boy's identity was immediately noticed by many people.

The 61-year-old fashion magnate François-Henri Pinault is the CEO of Kering, a French luxury group that owns a series of famous brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. François-Henri is married to 55-year-old Hollywood star Salma Hayek and shares a daughter Valentina. In addition, he has three other children from a previous marriage.

He also had a secretive son, known as Augustin James Evangelista. Born on October 11, 2006 in New York (USA), Augustin James is known as the son of Canadian supermodel Linda Evangelista.

Former Canadian model Linda Evangelista is one of the most successful and influential models, starting her career in 1984. She was one of five supermodels in the 1990s, along with Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Christy Turlington. She once famously stated: "You won't wake up if you're paid less than $10,000 a day."

Although his father was a famous billionaire, at the time of Augustin's birth, the identity of his father was completely hidden. Later, Augustin also followed his mother's surname instead of taking his father's surname Pinault.

The identity of Augustin's father was also hidden for years until 2011, when Linda filed for child support, the fact that the tycoon was the boy's biological father was revealed to the world.

According to People magazine, Hayek and Pinault married in 2009, but they dated in 2006 around the same time Linda became pregnant. The Cut reported that Linda and Pinault dated for about four months, starting in September 2005 and breaking up after 4 months of dating. To avoid media scrutiny, the model kept this a secret and only came out when everything was settled.

A source said: "François-Henri Pinault knew that Linda Evangelista would be filing a complaint with the court. Linda applied to the court for a ruling that François-Henri Pinault must provide child support until the age of 21."

A source close to François-Henri Pinault insists he did not betray Salma Hayek. "At that time, neither François-Henri Pinault nor Linda Evangelista were married. No one betrays anyone."

In 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported that Evangelista was asking for $46,000 per month in child support. Many people were taken aback by the money, but experts say that considering the cost of childcare, schooling, clothing, driving, and extracurricular activities required for a famous New York child, it's actually a reasonable number. Meanwhile, Pinault had a current net worth of $43 billion, according to Bloomberg and was also a billionaire at the time.

Mediator Matthew Troy stated, "This is probably the record amount in the history of a family case." According to François-Henri Pinault's lawyer: "François-Henri Pinault never made a move and he did not provide me with a penny."

Tạp chí Hello! It was later reported that billionaire François-Henri Pinault had "recognized" Augustin since 2007 and shared that his son was "fully integrated into the family".

Although it is unclear how much the two sides ultimately agreed upon, media reports suggest that the seemingly complicated relationship with the Pinaults has been settled and that the wealthy family has been spotted together many times enjoying luxury trips together.

In 2021, Francois' now-wife Hayek Henri Pinault shared a rare photo of their harmonious family life with a photo of her and "Augie" (Augustin's nickname) on a boat during a family vacation.

Although his identity has been made public, Augustin James has rarely been exposed to the media. Augustin has no known public social media accounts, and most of the photos of him online are mostly from when he was a child — at least until recently.

On Augustin James' 16th birthday in 2022, his mother delighted fans by sharing a picture of the mother and daughter on her profile. Followers were quick to comment that they looked surprisingly similar — angular jaws, chestnut brown hair, and gentle smiles — leaving fans wondering if he would follow in his mother's modeling footsteps.

However, in a rare interview comment in 2013, the model shared a bit about her son's hobby with Harper's Bazaar: "Let's just say I have a child who doesn't like fashion. He loved sports. We used to watch football games together. It may be a little confusing because the boy whose father is one of the luxury fashion moguls, but maybe things change."

He recently made it to the red carpet at the Time 100 Gala this past April. Augustin James Evangelista made headlines alongside Hollywood actress and stepmother Salma Hayek and stylish step-sister Valentina Pinault. Appearing on the red carpet with her sister and stepmother also shows the especially close relationship of the billionaire's family.

The 16-year-old is also not afraid to interact with A-listers. During the event, he posed for photos with cult figures such as Kim Kardashian and Drew Barrymore. He also impressed when he appeared in a dashing, chic suit and a cheerful mood.