Despite setbacks, such as the costly failure of La Cinq TV channel, he led significant mergers that established EADS, today major global aerospace contractor Airbus.

Jean-Luc Lagardère's contributions were praised by President Jacques Chirac, highlighting his visionary leadership and commitment to European integration.

[4] In 1981, he purchased the renowned Haras d'Ouilly stud in Pont-d'Ouilly, Calvados that had been owned by François Dupré and raced under their famous colors of gray with a pink cap.

On his death in 2003, the business was taken over by his son Arnaud who sold Haras d'Ouilly and its entire bloodstock in 2005 to the Aga Khan IV.

After his divorce, he married Betty Lagardère, whose birth name is Elisabeth Pimenta Lucas, a socialite and former Brazilian model who settled in France.