Published: 12 March 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
IF YOU ASK RABBI Shalom Betito who Karl Lagerfeld is, he’ll probably point to a marble plaque on his French Riviera synagogue’s wall.
Lagerfeld, who died on February 19, was famous for reviving the Chanel brand and recognized the world over by his signature look — black sunglasses, fingerless gloves, and high-collared shirts (Glamour magazine reported that he had 1,000 of them).
Even after his death, the quirky — and sometimes contentious — Chanel creative director continues to make headlines. He’s reportedly left a significant chunk of his US$195 million estate to his pet Choupette, which will do far more than keep the cat in kibble.
Her lavish lifestyle includes the attention of two personal assistants, dinners of caviar and pate served on designer dishes and private air travel. Choupette herself has some 300,000 Instagram followers.
But at Betito’s small congregation in Menton, a quiet town of 28,000 located on the French Riviera, Lagerfeld also has quite a reputation — for his contribution to the synagogue’s building fund back in the early 1980s.
FULL STORY When fashionista Karl Lagerfeld helped fund a synagogue for Holocaust survivors (Times of Israel)
Photo: Karl Lagerfeld walks over the stage in Hamburg, northern Germany, 2017 (AP/Markus Schreiber)
