Carole Ghosn is often reduced to her role as the wife of Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO of Renault-Nissan. Her name surfaced in the media after her husband’s arrest in Japan in November 2018. However, her personal journey, life choices, and active role in defending Carlos Ghosn paint a much more complex picture than that of a mere marital figure.
The contact ban: an unknown trigger for the escape from Japan
Why did Carlos Ghosn take the insane risk of fleeing Japan hidden in an audio equipment case? Analyses often focus on the slowness of the Japanese justice system or the harshness of detention conditions. However, a less publicized factor weighed heavily in the balance.
During his detention and then during his bail release, all direct contact between Carlos and Carole Ghosn was banned by the Japanese courts. This measure, extended over several months, radically isolated the couple. According to the Japan Times, this trial delay combined with the inability to communicate with his wife directly contributed to his decision to leave the country.
For Carole Ghosn, this ban also represented a personal ordeal. She, who campaigned with international media and political leaders, could not freely communicate with the man she publicly defended. This article allows you to learn more about Carole Ghosn on Encrages and the dimensions of her commitment.
Carole Nahas before Carlos Ghosn: studies, New York, and entrepreneurship
Born in Beirut in 1966 under the name Carole Nahas, she grew up in Lebanon before pursuing dental studies at the American University of Beirut. Her known professional life was then built in New York, where she accompanied her first husband, banker Marwan Marshi, an executive at Citigroup.
She created a luxury caftan brand called Calm in New York, in collaboration with designer Alison Levasseur. The pieces were made in Lebanon. Part of the revenue was donated to an association supporting underprivileged Lebanese women. The business closed after a few years of operation.
From her first marriage, Carole Ghosn had three children. Her two sons, Daniel and Anthony, have pursued careers in finance. Her daughter Tara continued her studies. All attended the French high school in New York, a sign of their roots in the Franco-Lebanese community of the city.
Marriage to Carlos Ghosn: from secret affair to Versailles
The meeting between Carole Nahas and Carlos Ghosn took place while he was still married to Rita Khordahi, the mother of his four children (Caroline, Anthony, Maya, and Nadine). In 2013, their affair became public. The couple formalized their relationship the same year, photographed hand in hand at the Trophée des Arts Gala in New York.
The civil marriage was celebrated in 2016 at the town hall of the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The reception, held at the Grand Trianon in Versailles, was memorable for its opulence. This celebration coincided with Carole’s fiftieth birthday. The choice of Versailles, a place rich in symbolism, later fueled criticism of the couple’s lifestyle.
Three children, two blended families
With Carole’s three children and Carlos’s four, the blended family totals seven children. Caroline Ghosn, Carlos’s eldest daughter, born in 1987 in New York, has pursued her own career in entrepreneurship, distinct from the automotive world. This family configuration complicated the media management of the case, with each branch of the clan having its own ties to Japan, the United States, France, and Lebanon.
Japanese arrest warrant and Interpol notice against Carole Ghosn
After Carlos Ghosn’s escape at the end of December 2019, the Japanese justice system issued an arrest warrant for Carole Ghosn. The reasons cited involve suspicions of false testimony. This point is often mentioned in the French press without fully understanding the concrete consequences.
The Japanese authorities obtained international dissemination via Interpol (red notice) concerning the Ghosn couple. For Carole, this means she is potentially exposed to arrest in many countries, particularly in Europe and North America. In practical terms, her international travel has been restricted for several years.
Here is what this situation implies on a daily basis:
- Any border crossing in a country cooperating with Interpol represents a risk of arrest, even for a simple airport transit.
- Lebanon, where the couple resides, does not have an extradition agreement with Japan, which provides de facto protection on Lebanese territory.
- Traveling to France or the United States, two countries where Carole Ghosn has long lived, has become legally perilous.
Media campaign and political role of Carole Ghosn
From the moment of Carlos Ghosn’s arrest, Carole Ghosn took an unusual public role for a CEO’s wife. She directly solicited Emmanuel Macron, then President of the Republic, to intervene in the case. She gave numerous interviews in the French and international press, from Le Parisien to The New York Times.
Her discourse has always followed a consistent line: defending her husband’s innocence and denouncing the Japanese judicial system, which she described as political persecution. At Carlos Ghosn’s press conference in Beirut in January 2020, she sat in the front row. Once the speech was over, she left the room without comment, leaving the floor to her husband.
This positioning combines marital support and communication strategy. Carole Ghosn has never claimed an official spokesperson role, but she has effectively occupied that space during the months when Carlos was detained or silenced. She remained the public voice of the couple when he could not speak.
Carole Ghosn’s journey is not limited to the judicial affair. Between Beirut, New York, Paris, and present-day Lebanon, she has traversed several lives, multiple identities, and various constraints. The Interpol notice hanging over her turns every movement into a legal calculation, far removed from the opulence of Versailles.