Ousted Nissan head Carlos Ghosn and wife Carole are now both wanted by Japan. Here's the story of the couple's intense relationship.
Businessman Carlos Ghosn became COO of Nissan in 1999, and CEO in 2001. In 2016, he was put in charge of the global grouping that included Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi.
Ghosn was born in Brazil and grew up in Lebanon. After living in France for a few years, he settled in Japan in 1999 for his position with Nissan, although he kept apartments in other cities around the world, the WSJ reports.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Ghosn separated from his first wife, Rita, in 2010, who reportedly "wore recycled clothes and loved playing bridge." They officially divorced in 2012, according to the WSJ.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
In 2010, Ghosn began dating his now-wife, Carole Nahas, a Lebanon-born businesswoman who lived most of her life in the US.
Source: Japan Times
Nahas, who had founded a company selling luxury caftans, was reportedly a "calming influence" on Ghosn according to Japanese media.
Source: Japan Times
In 2012, Ghosn purchased a $5.7 million beachfront apartment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil through a subsidiary of his venture investment firm Zi-A. Though it was company property, Ghosn reportedly hosted family gatherings in the apartment regularly.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Ghosn and his future wife have spent time in Brazil throughout their relationship. In 2014, they watched the final match of the FIFA World Cup together.
They were spectators throughout the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, which Nissan sponsored.
Source: The New York Times
They still found quality time with each other...
...and snack breaks.
That year, Zi-A also reportedly paid nearly $9 million for a mansion in Beirut, along with another $6 million on furniture and upgrades.
Source: The New York Times
Around 2015, Nahas taught Ghosn how to ski, according to the New York Times.
Source: The New York Times
In 2016, Carlos and Carole Ghosn celebrated their wedding and Carole's 50th birthday. They rented the Grand Trianon at Versailles for a Marie Antoinette-themed wedding, complete with actors in 18th-century costumes.
Photos of the lavish wedding were published by Town and Country magazine.
Bloomberg later reported that Ghosn spent $57,000 of Renault's money on his Versailles wedding, the car company disclosed.
Source: Bloomberg
Shortly after the wedding, Nissan bought Ghosn a Gulfstream G650. The jet reportedly started making frequent trips to Beirut, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
In November 2018, police surrounded Ghosn's jet in Tokyo to arrest him based on allegations that he was underreporting his pay and misusing company funds.
Source: Business Insider
In March of 2019, the couple was briefly reunited when Carlos was released after 108 days on a nearly $9 million bail. He was then placed under 24/7 surveillance and was not allowed to contact his wife the entire time. They were kept apart by Japanese prosecutors for seven months.
Source: Business Insider
In October, Carole started planning his escape from Japan, according to Imad Ajami. a Lebanese consultant who reportedly met with Ghosn while he was in Japan. Ghosn denies that any family members were involved in his escape.
Source: Kyodo News
Carole Ghosn tried to use her US citizenship to help her husband. In April, Ghosn wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post about what she called "Japan's 'hostage justice' system," and she asked Trump to intervene on her Carlos' behalf. In April, she released a statement asking French President Emmanuel Macron to help.
Source: The Washington Post, CNN
On December 29, Ghosn escaped by bullet train and private jet by hiding in an audio equipment case that was too large for the scanners at the airport. After a stop in Turkey, he landed in Lebanon, which does not have an extradition agreement with Japan.
Source: Wall Street Journal, Business Insider
WSJ has obtained a photo of the audio-equipment case used by Carlos Ghosn to sneak out of Japan. The case has holes drilled in the bottom so Ghosn could breathe. Amazing find by @gauthiervillars https://t.co/XK4sf5x6Dy pic.twitter.com/DcuvsiFXDg
— Mark Maremont (@MarkMaremont) January 4, 2020Carlos and Carole Ghosn reportedly spent New Year's eve together in Beirut. Carole told The Wall Street Journal that reuniting with her husband was the "best gift of my life." They are staying in the mansion bought by Nissan, which the company has so far been unsuccessful in forcing them out of.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
On Tuesday, Tokyo prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Carole Ghosn for allegedly lying during her testimony. Carlos Ghosn maintains that his wife had no knowledge of his escape.
Source: Reuters
At a January 8 press conference in Lebanon, Ghosn again denied charges against him, and accused critics of "character assassination." He described the case against him as a corporate plot between the Japanese prosecutors and his former company.
Source: Business Insider
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