Topline
The producer of a pair of aviator-style sunglasses that French President Emmanuel Macron sported at the World Economic Forum in Davos enjoyed a 28% bump in its stock price Thursday after the glasses sparked thousands of sarcastic jokes and memes online.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 20, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Italian company iVision Tech, which brought legacy French eyewear brand Henry Jullien in 2023, added about $4.1 million to its market cap Thursday after Macron wore the sunglasses during his speech in Davos, Switzerland.
The glasses Macron wore were a pair of Pacific S 01 Double Gold sunglasses that retails for €659 (about $775).
Stefano Fulchir, the president of iVision Tech, told the Guardian Macron has owned the sunglasses since 2024 when he bought them as a diplomatic gift during the G20 summit, and added on a second pair for himself.
Macron rocked the eyewear to hide a subconjunctival haemorrhage, or a burst blood vessel in his right eye, which he called “totally benign.”
The look also got the meme treatment on social media with images circulating showing Macron subbed into posters for “Top Gun,” “Cobra” and “Terminator.”
President Trump also mocked Macron, sarcastically asking, “I watched him yesterday with those beautiful sunglasses. What the hell happened?”
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts:We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here: joinsubtext.com/forbes.
Surprising Fact
When news spread that Macon was rocking Henry Jullien, the company’s website crashed for most of the day, the Guardian reported.
Key Background
Henry Jullien, which has been making sunglasses since 1921, produces about 1,000 of the sunglasses worn by Macron per year, Fulchir said, at a factory north of Geneva that has only 10 staff members. The glasses are all hand assembled and made using an “ancient technique,” per iVison, that involves gold bolding rather than the much more common—and cheaper—technique of gold plating. The brand also made headlines last year when actress Sigourney Weaver wore a pair of its classes—the Melrose 15 model—at the Goya Awards in Spain.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/01/22/frances-macrons-775-sunglasses-boost-makers-stock-28/
