The billionaires donating money to help rebuild Notre Dame

Several of the world’s richest people have already pledged more than 700 million euros to help rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Some of the world’s richest people have pledged millions of dollars to help rebuild the ionic Notre Dame cathedral after it was destroyed by fire.

The amount pledged has soared to more than 700 million euros ($A1.1 billion), with other unspecified donations pushing the total even higher.

Most of the donations have come from France's’s wealthiest citizens, with a few making donations of more than 100 million euros ($A157 million).

The extraordinary response followed French President Emmanuel Macron’s vow to launch an international fundraising scheme to restore the cathedral.

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Donations have been flooding in from some of the richest people in the world. Picture: Thierry Mallet/AP

The first major pledge came from billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault who is married to Hollywood star Salma Hayek.

He is the founder of Kering, a Parisian luxury group that includes brands like Gucci and Saint Laurent.

Mr Pinault announced the generous donation of 100 million euros on his company’s Twitter page, writing “Faced with this tragedy, my father and I have decided to contribute to the funds needed to fully rebuild Notre Dame de Paris, in order to bring this jewel of our heritage back to life as soon as possible.”

Francois-Henri Pinault with his wife Salma Hayek. Picture: Thibault Camus/AP

Minutes later, Bernard Arnault, one of the world’s richest men, doubled Mr Pinault’s offer and pledged 200 million euros ($A314 million).

Mr Arnault is the CEO of LVMH, which encompasses luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Sephora and Marc Jacobs.

“In the wake of this national tragedy, the Arnault family and the LVMH Group pledge their support for #Notredame,” a post from the company’s Twitter page read.

“They will donate a total of 200 million euros to the fund for reconstruction of this architectural work, which is an integral part of the history of France.”

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault pledged 200 million euros to help rebuild the cathedral. Picture: Christophe Ena/AP

L’Oreal and its main shareholder, the Bettencourt Meyers family, also announced it would donate a combined total of 200 million euros to the cause.

Another 100 million euros was pledged from Patrick Poyanne, the head of French oil company Total.

Paris Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, said the city would provide 50 million euros ($A78 million).

Apple CEO Tim Cook also announced the company would be “donating to the rebuilding efforts”, though the donation amount was unspecified.

Early estimates of what it will cost to rebuild Notre Dame suggest the price could soar to hundreds of billions of dollars.

The fire caused significant damage to the 850-year-old structure, with the majority of the roof destroyed, the spire gone and countless priceless art relics lost.

Millions of dollars in restoration of Notre Dame was already underway before the fire broke out.

Peter Fuessenich, the chief architect of Cologne’s Gothic cathedral, said: “It will certainly take years, perhaps even decades, until the last damage caused by this terrible fire will be completely repaired.”

Repair costs are estimated to reach hundreds of billions of dollars. Picture: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP

Debris inside Notre Dame cathedral. Picture: Christophe Petit Tesson/AP

FULL LIST OF DONORS

• Francois-Henri Pinault, founder Kering — 100 million euros

• Bernault Arnault, CEO of LVMH — 200 million euros

• L’Oréal and the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation -200 million euros

• Tim Cook, Apple CEO, — Unspecified

• Patrick Pouyanné, Total CEO — 100 million euros

• Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, City of Paris — 50 million euros

• Societe Generale, French bank — 10 million euros

• JCDecaux, outdoor advertising group — 20 million euros

• University of Notre Dame in Indiana — $US100,000

• Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere, CEO of holdings company Fimalac — 10 million euros

• Martin and Oliver Bouygues, from French industrial company Bouygues — 10 million euros

• Auvergne-Rhone Alpes local government — 2 million euros

• European Central Bank — 9 million euros

• Cap Gemini, IT services group — 1 million euros

• Andrey Andreev, founder of the dating app Badoo — 100% of the app’s April profits

• Henry Kravis, co-founder of the New York-based private equity firm KKR — $US10 million

• Valerie Pecresse, head of the Ile de France regional authority — 10 million euros