Aristotle Dumas reveal: The Young and the Restless Spoiler Theory

Fans of The Young and the Restless have been wondering for months who is the real person behind the mysterious Aristotle Dumas. And we think we may have just figured it out.

Who is Aristotle Dumas on The Young and the Restless?

We have hashed and rehashed all of the clues we have been given of the mysterious tycoon, Aristotle Dumas. But the latest concern of Billy (Jason Thompson), who is considering making a deal with the businessman, needs a better look.

According to Billy, Aristotle Dumas has reasons (that he doesn’t want Billy to disclose to anyone just yet) to take back Chancellor and give it to Billy. What sticks out about this? Just how would Dumas accomplish that? Victor (Eric Braeden) tried to find ways to undermine Billy from appearing as a confident leader, but ultimately, the only way he could “take” Chancellor was to buy it from Jill (Jess Walton), fire Billy, and seat Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) in the CEO’s seat.

Granted, when Billy was in Paris, he was on a mystery call with someone in the middle of the night and told them to find out everything Nikki had been up to since becoming Chancellor’s CEO. But that didn’t mean the information was for him; he could have been advising Aristotle to see if she’d made any mistakes he could capitalize on. Regardless, the question on everyone in-the-know’s mind is the same: Why would Aristotle Dumas give the company to Billy?

Here’s our theory: Aristotle knows the details of what happened when Victor took Chancellor. Lily (Christel Khalil) and Billy were betrayed, humiliated, and tossed out. But surely to a business tycoon, that’s just business. So why would they want to give it back? Because it’s personal.

Victor encouraged Lily (and by that we mean manipulated and schemed) to return to Winters following the Chancellor buyout. She was furious that Victor was dictating her life for her. Someone else could probably empathize with that feeling…but could also see the importance of the Winters being united just as Damian (Jermaine Rivers) was about to come to Genoa City — which is something Aristotle knew about, as Damian works for him. But maybe being back at Winters, being part of the growing family tree, working with her brother and cousin, and having new connections with Damian was something that Aristotle wanted for Lily…because perhaps, that is what they thought Neil would have wanted, and Aristotle knew Neil (Kristoff St. John).

Billy also mentioned to Jack (Peter Bergman) that Aristotle had been around for about 5 or 6 years, doing business in their orbit. Victor told Michael (Christian LeBlanc) that he had battled and lost against Aristotle several times for acquisitions, noting how Dumas would surface, outdo in a deal, and then retreat again. Sounds like someone who might have known Victor’s interests and undermined them. Who would do such a thing? Someone who lived under Victor’s shadow and wanted to feel success on their own, without him pulling the strings.

As for Billy and why Aristotle would give Chancellor to him? Billy is the father of Victoria’s children, and putting the family together, even extended members like Sharon (Sharon Case), in a good, healthy, and safe place, was supposed to be the Newman mission this year.

So who is it that we think could be Aristotle Dumas? Nikki Newman. Think about it…maybe this is her way of making right all the wrongs Victor does in business, and she's been doing it over the years when she saw fit. After this last fiasco with Chancellor, and the subsequent shooting of Victor, maybe she doesn't want to be CEO as much as she thought and wants to spend time with her husband, but still have the background deals no one knows about. She could right some wrongs, get some better karma, and still be a business tycoon on the side.

With newcomer Billy Flynn joining the cast, perhaps he is the “he” behind the voice and communications for her — just like Damian, who works for Aristotle and pretends to own Danglar Properties and Monte Cristo Investments for his boss. Maybe the new character will turn out to be Nikki’s nephew or some other relation. The only downfall of this theory, and it’s a big one, would be that that would mean Aristotle is not Cane Ashby, and our hopes and dreams of Daniel Goddard gracing our screen are dashed — for now.

Watch The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS or stream on Paramount Plus.