[5] The paper was established as a four-page monthly publication under Les Echos de l'Exportation by brothers Robert and Émile Servan-Schreiber in 1908.

[5] The period from 1945 to 1960 was described as "the Servan-Schreiber years", with the involvement of Jean-Jacques (L'Express' founder), son of Émile, as well as Marie-Claire and Jean-Claude, children of Robert.

[5] Pascale Santi of Le Monde wrote that it was the "clan war in the Servan-Schreiber family that had led to the sale of the newspaper".

[6] Les Echos was sold to Pierre and Jacqueline Beytout in 1963, who had only one objective: to make the newspaper a "genuine" economic daily with an international perspective.

[6] In 1986, Jacqueline appointed her grandson Nicolas Beytout editor-in-chief, a position he kept until September 2004, when he was assigned the same duty at Le Figaro.

[6] 67% of the Les Echos group was sold after a fierce struggle for 880 million francs, and Pearson's acquisition of the remaining 33% was concluded in 1989.

[12][13] In 2010, the coverage of Les Echos was expanded to cover such topics as innovations in science, technologies, green growth, medicine and health and skills concerning marketing and advertising, management, education, strategy and leadership, law and finance.

[17][18][19] According to one of the former managing editors, Jacques Barraux, "the orientation of the journal is essentially economic liberal: we defend the idea that market is superior to plan.

"[20] In 2017, the society of Les Echos journalists also protested against the censorship of an interview with left-wing politician François Ruffin in a press release, forcing the managing editor to justify himself publicly, claiming that he did not want to give publicity to someone who was "denigrating their newspaper in terms that are not in the realm of debate - which is legitimate - but systematically caricatured".