E douard Carmignac is a French billionaire financier and the founder and chairman of Carmignac Gestion, one of Europe's largest and best-known independent asset management firms. With a background as a fund manager at various financial institutions, he founded his own firm in 1989 with a focus on a global, conviction-based approach to investing.

He built his reputation and his company on the performance of his flagship global fund, Carmignac Patrimoine, which became incredibly popular with retail and institutional investors across Europe. He is known for his strong, top-down macroeconomic views and his charismatic and sometimes contrarian investment style. He has since stepped back from the day-to-day management of the funds but remains the controlling shareholder and chairman of the firm he built into a European asset management giant. He is also a major art collector and has a foundation that supports contemporary art.