soci t par actions simplifi e industry merchant genre agriculture food processing transportation founded 1851 ; 165 years ago 1851 founder l opold louis dreyfus headquarters amsterdam the netherlands area served worldwide operations in 100 countries key people margarita louis dreyfus chairman gonzalo ramirez martiarena ceo products oilseeds grains juice fertilisers cotton sugar rice coffee dairy metals etc. services freight finance etc. revenue us 55.7 billion fy2015 operating income us 1 356 million fy2015 net income us 211 million fy2015 us 648 million fy2014 total assets us 18.6 billion fy2015 total equity us 4 863 million fy2015 owner 90 % louis dreyfus family 10 % employee owned number of employees 22 000 fy2015 website www.ldcom.com footnotes references annual report 2015 louis dreyfus company is a global merchant company that is involved in agriculture food processing international shipping and finance . it also owns and manages hedge funds ocean vessels develops and operates telecommunications infrastructures and is involved in real estate development management and ownership . 1 louis dreyfus is one of the abcd quartet of companies alongside archer daniels midland bunge and cargill that dominates world agricultural commodity trading . 2 dreyfus makes up about 10 % of the world s agricultural product trade flows . they also are the world s largest cotton and rice trader . 3 they are also regarded by many as the second largest player in the world s sugar market . 4 the company louis dreyfus holding bv has its headquarters in the world trade center amsterdam in amsterdam . 5 louis dreyfus companies are present in more than 100 countries with 72 offices . major offices are located in geneva london beijing buenos aires paris s o paulo singapore new york city and connecticut . 6 aggregate average annual gross sales in recent years have exceeded 120 billion . the company employs more than 22 000 people globally at peak season . contents 1 history 2 see also 3 references 4 external links history edit in 1851 the company was founded in the alsace region of france by l opold dreyfus the 18 year old son of a farmer from sierentz under the name of his father louis dreyfus . l opold purchased wheat from local farmers in alsace and transported it to basel in switzerland 13 kilometres 8 mi away . 7 l opold developed a fortune whilst still a teenager through cross border cereal trading . he rapidly diversified across shipping weapons manufacturing agriculture oil and banking thus establishing one of the wealthiest dynasties in europe . 8 his descendants still own the company to this day . by the early 20th century the louis dreyfus family was described as one of the five great fortunes of france . however as a jewish family during the second world war much of the family assets were confiscated by the vichy government and some members of the family fled to america . 9 leopold louis dreyfus s great grandson g rard louis dreyfus was chairman of louis dreyfus energy services a subsidiary of the group involved in crude oil trading gas investments and infrastructure . g rard is also the father of american actress julia louis dreyfus the emmy winning star of seinfeld . another branch of the dynasty based in paris was headed by robert louis dreyfus who was also the ceo of adidas until his death in 2009 . it is currently overseen by his widow russian born margarita bogdanova louis dreyfus . 10 a third branch of the family s business is headed by philippe louis dreyfus born 1945 and is concerned primarily with offshore industrial activities and freight shipping operations . 11 see also edit pierre louis dreyfus louis louis dreyfus ld lines references edit groupe louis dreyfus s.a. company profile information business description history background information on groupe louis dreyfus s.a. . retrieved 7 april 2015 . reuters . reuters . retrieved 26 march 2015 . bloomberg . bloomberg . retrieved 18 september 2015 . reuters . reuters . retrieved 16 may 2012 . contacts . louis dreyfus group . retrieved on october 30 2012 . wtc amsterdam tower h level 25 zuidplein 208 1077 xv amsterdam the netherlands louis dreyfus . intern here . retrieved 7 april 2015 . louis dreyfus company our heritage . www.ldcom.com . retrieved 2016 09 08 . saatchi & saatchi the inside story by alison fendley page 100 arcade publishing 8 oct 1996 the history of foreign investment in the united states 1914 1945 harvard university press 2004 by mira wilkins page 479 bermant yoel . margarita louis dreyfus head of louis dreyfus holdings is winning the battle to keep the company in family hands . retrieved 7 april 2015 . board of advisors . london international shipping week . retrieved 7 april 2015 . external links edit louis dreyfus group website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title louis dreyfus company & oldid 743516727 categories companies of franceconglomerate companies of francefrench business familiesmultinational companies 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