French billionaire Xavier Niel, chairman of telecommunications giant Illiad, responded to a social media challenge by actually showing up at a designated supermarket location in Marseille, France.
The incident began when a frustrated Call of Duty player, known as “JimmyBLLT,” posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Xavier Niel I hate you and I propose a 1v1 in front of the Lidl on rue Sainte in Marseille.”
To everyone’s surprise, Niel, whose net worth is estimated at over $7 billion, took the challenge seriously. The telecom mogul appeared at the specified Lidl location and posted a photo with the caption “I’m waiting.”
The situation escalated when Niel posted a video of himself at the location, saying “I’m here! I’m waiting for you!” followed by “Where are you? Come on! Do you want to meet in the car park?”
The gamer quickly backtracked, citing illness as his reason for not showing up: “I would have liked to but 34.2 temperature + stomach ache + headache sorry I give up.”
Later, JimmyBLLT explained the reason behind his initial outburst: “I was getting ripped off on Call of Duty because I was lagging so I lost my temper, but [it’s] nothing serious.”
Even Lidl France joined the conversation, humorously posting, “Please come and pick up the man who has been tweeting since this morning in front of the store on rue Sainte in Marseille.”
The incident has since gone viral, showcasing an unusual interaction between a corporate leader and a frustrated customer, while demonstrating Niel’s willingness to engage directly with users of his company’s services, regardless of his status as a billionaire businessman.
