French tech mogul shows up at supermarket after internet user's fight challenge
Self-made French tech billionaire takes an unusual step by responding to an online fight challenge at a local supermarket. The challenger quickly backed down after seeing the real-life response
Xavier Niel‚ the tech-savvy founder of Free telecom group made an un-expected move yesterday when he showed-up at a Lidl supermarket; responding to an online fight challenge (his net-worth is around 8 billion pounds)
Im here! Im waiting for you! Where are you‚ come on! Do you want to meet in the car park?
The whole story started bout 6 months ago when a user named Fuego 7 challenged Niel to a one-on-one fight: the reason being poor internet connection affecting their Call of Duty gaming performance. This happened right when Free company dealt with:
- Major internet outages in Paris region
- A cyber-attack exposing almost 20 million customers data
- Wide-spread service issues in south-east France
The challenger quickly changed their mind posting: “No sorry I was joking“ adding some made-up excuses about having fever and stomach problems. Even Lidlʼs social-media team joined the fun asking someone to “pick up the gentleman waiting at their store“
Niel who grew up in a poor Paris area became a millionaire in his mid-20s. His company Free changed french telecoms by making an all-in-one box that combined internet phone and TV services. Just couple months ago he wrote a book about his business path called “A hell of a desire to make a mess“
