Legendary French banker Antoine Bernheim, a master of high European finance and a fixture at companies from Christian Dior to Le Monde, died yesterday, aged 87.

A charismatic figure whose calculations shaped both French and Italian finance for decades, Mr Bernheim pursued most of his professional career at French investment bank Lazard.

A graduate in law and science, he was chairman of Italian insurer Generali between 1995 and 1999 and again from 2002 until 2010.

He was vice chairman of a range of companies, including French luxury group LVMH and French investment group Bollore. He received the highest level of the Legion d’Honneur.