Paul Marciano

Paul Marciano (born ca. 1952 in Debdou, Morocco ^[1]) is a Moroccan-born American fashion designer, businessman, investor, and philanthropist.^[2] He is the co-founder of Guess? Inc. He is the mastermind behind Guess? Inc image and his black-and-white advertisements have won numerous Clio awards. Initially run by all four Marciano brothers (Paul, Armand, Maurice and Georges), today the company and its extension lines, Marciano and G by Guess, are handled only by Paul and Maurice. He is also a large benefactor to one of the larger Sephardic synagogues in Los Angeles, Em Habanim.

Early life

Paul Marciano was born in 1952 in Debdou, Morocco to a Jewish family and raised in Marseilles, France with his four siblings, Georges, Armand, Maurice and Jacqueline. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were rabbis.^[3] They lived in an apartment in a synagogue complex and from age 8–15. Paul, along with his brothers, was a member of the Éclaireurs israelites de France, a Jewish boy scout group which was located in the same complex.^[4] At 15, he and a friend were involved in a motorcycle accident when they collided with an oncoming car.^[5] After being told he would never walk again, he spent seven months in a wheelchair.^[5] He eventually regained full use of his limbs after a year and a half, but was not re-accepted into school due to his prolonged absence. Unable to finish his education, he traveled to Israel to live in a kibbutz.^[5]

Career

MGA

Marciano worked in his family's clothing company, MGA, with shops in French Riviera. The Marciano brothers, Paul, Georges, Armand and Maurice, visited Southern California during an extended leave in 1977, and developed an appreciation for the area. After political changes in France in 1981, the Marcianos closed MGA and moved to the United States. Soon after the brothers started the world-famous clothing company Guess.^[6]

Guess? Inc.

In 1981, the Marciano brothers founded Guess Jeans. In 1983, they sold a 50% stake in Guess Jeans^[7] to the Nakash Brothers (Joseph "Joe" Nakash, Abraham "Avi" Nakash, and Raphael "Ralph" Nakash) of New York.^[7] The joint venture soured^[8] and in 1989, a California superior court jury found that the Nakashes had fraudulently lured the Marcianos into the transaction.^[9] In 1990, the Nakash brothers settled for $66 million of $106 million escrowed profits and the ownership of the brand name "Gasoline" while the Marciano brothers received the brand "Diesel."^[7][10] Paul Marciano first handled advertising and public relations and later became president and chief operating officer of the company in 1993.^[11] In 2004, Paul and Maurice Marciano together owned close to 70 percent of the 44 million shares.^[12]

In August 2015, Paul Marciano stepped down as the CEO of Guess. He became Executive Chairman and remained Guess' chief creative officer.^[13]

Other business activities

Along with his brother Maurice, Paul Marciano joined forces in 2013 with Steve Tisch and World Wrestling Entertainment in backing Hero Ventures, a Los Angeles entertainment start-up.^[14]

Philanthropy

In 2013, the Maurice and Paul Marciano Art Foundation paid $8 million to buy the former Scottish Rite Masonic Temple on Wilshire Boulevard,^[15] which the two brothers plan to turn into a private museum designed by architect Kulapat Yantrasast.^[16] With 90,000 square feet over four floors, it is almost as large as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles^[17] and intended to house the Marcianos' 1,000-piece collection.^[18] In order to avoid any conflicts of interest with Maurice Marciano's subsequent co-chairmanship of MOCA, the project was temporarily put on hold.^[18]

In 2014, Paul and his brother Maurice donated $5.2 million to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.^[19]

References

External links

• Paul Marciano at the Fashion Model Directory

Bibliography