Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a.k.a. Mr. Titanic, Leaves Behind a Legacy: Inside His Net Worth After His Death
Paul-Henri Nargeolet was one of the five people aboard OceanGate Expeditions’ submarine, the Titan, which made headlines when it disappeared on June 18. Unfortunately, all five passengers died when the sub imploded just hours after it embarked on its voyage to view the remains of the RMS Titanic. Keep scrolling to find out Nargeolet’s net worth, learn about his job, how he made money and more.
What Was Paul-Henri Nargeolet’s Net Worth?
Several outlets have reported that Nargeolet had an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion, though the exact number has not been confirmed.
How Does Paul-Henri Nargeolet Make Money?
Nargeolet worked as the director of Underwater Research Program at Premier Exhibitions, RMS Titanic, Inc. since 2007, according to his LinkedIn page.
The French oceanographer was known as "Mr. Titanic" because of his vast knowledge on the sunken vessel. He made more than 35 dives down to the Titanic wreckage before the June 2023 voyage because RMS Titanic, Inc. owns the salvage rights to the vessel.
What Other Jobs Has Paul-HenrimNargeolet Had?
Before his last role, Nargeolet worked as a self-employe consultant from 2004 until 2007.
He spent more than two decades serving with the French Navy, where he worked as a mine-clearing diver, a deep sea diver and a submarine pilot. He then joined IFREMER, a publicly funded French research institute, in the late 1980s and did work related to the earliest excavations of the Titanic site.
Nargeolet set out on his first dive in 1987, which was two years after the Titanic was discovered.
“It was a pretty unforgettable moment,” he told The New York Times about his first dive.
In addition to his work as an oceanographer, Nargeolet has participated in the documentaries Titanic: The Legend Lives On (1994) and Deep Inside the Titanic (1999).
He also published the book Dans les profondeurs du Titanic, translated from French to English as In the Depths of the Titanic, about his expeditions in 2022.
What Happened to the Titan?
On June 18, the Titan submerged for its voyage to explore the Titanic ship, which sank in 1912 after it struck an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.
Unlike normal submarines, the Titan is able to return to the surface and the vessel needs its mothership, the Polar Prince, to guide it back from the bottom of the ocean floor. During the most recent outing, the Titan lost contact with the Polar Prince and the Coast Guard was contacted for a search.
There were five passengers on the vessel, including Nargeolet, the CEO of OceanGate Stockton Rush, British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son, Suleman.
The vessel was equipped with 96 hours of oxygen at the start of the voyage, while the U.S. Coast Guard estimated that it likely ran out of oxygen in the early morning hours of June 22.
The Coast Guard confirmed that all five passengers died after the vessel imploded during a press conference on June 22.
"This is an incredibly unforgiving environment,” the Coast Guard noted in the press briefing. “The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.”
