Carlos Ghosn Gets Evicted From $19 Million Beirut Mansion Bought By Nissan

A judge in Lebanon has ordered former Renault and Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn to vacate the home he has been living in for the past four years after fleeing Japan.

Ghosn had a long and successful career in the automotive industry, starting with an 18-year tenure at Michelin where he worked his way up the ranks and was ultimately appointed as chief executive of Michelin North America in 1990. In 1996, he joined Renault and was tasked with slashing costs at the carmaker. He did just that and played a pivotal role in the alliance formed between Renault and Nissan. In mid-2001, he was appointed as Nissan’s new chief executive while retaining his role at Renault.

Fast forward to 2005 and Ghosn also became the chief executive of Renault, thus becoming the first person to run two companies on the Fortune Global 500 simultaneously.

However, things unraveled for Ghosn in November 2018 when he was arrested at the Tokyo International Airport on allegations of under-reporting his salary and misusing company assets. He was held in and out of Japanese prison through much of 2019 before he was released on bail. He then orchestrated a daring escape, contacting a former Green Beret and flying out of Japan on a private jet while hidden in a musical instrument box. He has remained in Lebanon ever since.

From the moment news of Carlos Ghosn’s daring escape from Japan emerged on New Year’s Eve in 2019, it was obvious that it would be good material about a documentary. That is exactly what has happened and on August 25, Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn, will begin streaming on Apple TV+.

The four-part documentary has been executive produced by James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin from Formula 1: Drive to Survive and will detail the complete rise and fall of Ghosn, formerly one of the world’s most powerful automotive executives.

Ever since Ghosn broke his Japanese bail conditions and fled the country on a private jet while hidden in an audio equipment case, he has been living at a sprawling $19 million property in Beirut.

Unfortunately for him and his wife, he was ordered to vacate the premises within a month on October 16. Ghosn does not own the house. Instead, it is registered to the Lebanese company Phoinos Investment and the company initiated legal action against Ghosn for residing there in 2019. The company claims he is “trespassing on private property and living in the home without legal basis.”

The former industry executive juggernaut asserts that Phoinos Investment was affiliated with Nissan and that “the property was purchased … for his residence, and there is a signed agreement with Nissan that grants him the right to reside.”

However, a judge notes that Ghosn only occupied the home “according to a contractual relationship linking” himself and Nissan and that the end of his relationship with Nissan invalidates “the legal basis” for him to reside there, Japan Times reports.

Ref: Carlos Ghosn Gets Evicted From $19 Million Beirut Mansion Bought By Nissan (carscoops)