Bernard Arnault full name Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault a French business magnate, investor, and art collector. He is the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, the world’s largest luxury goods company. Arnault has an estimated net worth of US$186.2 billion as of December 2022, according to Forbes, making him the richest person in the world, French national Bernard Arnault is the chair and CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company. LVMH brands include Louis Vuitton, Hennessey, Marc Jacobs, and Sephora.
Most of Arnault’s wealth comes from his massive stake in Christian Dior SE, the holding company that controls 41.2% of LVMH. His shares in Christian Dior SE, plus an additional 6.2% in LVMH, are held through his family-owned holding company, Groupe Familial Arnault.
An engineer by training, Arnault first showed his business acumen while working for his father’s construction firm, Ferret-Savinel, taking charge of the company in 1971. He converted Ferret-Savinel to a real estate company named Férinel Inc. in 1979.
Arnault remained Férinel’s chair for another six years, until he acquired and reorganized luxury goods maker Financière Agache in 1984, eventually selling all its holdings other than Christian Dior and Le Bon Marché. He was invited to invest in LVMH in 1987 and became the majority shareholder, chair of the board, and CEO of the company two years later.
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| Age | 73 years |
| Residence | Paris |
| Net worth | $186.2 billion |
| Companies | LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton |
| Assets | Christian Dior Ownership Stake: 97.5 % ($132 billion total)
Moelis & Company equity ($25 billion public asset) and $10.3 billion in cash
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Twitter and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world, Forbes announced on Thursday. Forbes listed Mr Musk as occupying the second position in its latest list of “Real-Time Billionaires” with a net worth of $183.6 billion.
He comes after CEO of French luxury brand LVMH, maker of Louis Vuitton luxury goods and Hennessy cognac, Bernard Arnault, whose net worth was estimated at $186.2 billion.
Mr Musk held the position as the world richest man between 2020 and 2021.So Bernard Arnault is currently the richest man in the world.
LIFE HISTORY OF BERNARD ARNAULT
Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault was born on 5 March 1949 in Roubaix.His mother, Marie-Josèphe Savinel, daughter of Étienne Savinel, had a “fascination for Dior” His father, manufacturer Jean Léon Arnault, a graduate of École Centrale Paris, owned the civil engineering company Ferret-Savinel. Arnault was educated at the Lycée Maxence Van Der Meersch in Roubaix, and the Lycée Faidherbe in Lille. In 1971, he graduated from the École Polytechnique, France’s leading engineering school, and began work for his father’s company.Three years later, after he convinced his father to shift the focus of the company to real estate, Ferret-Savinel sold the industrial construction division and was renamed Ferinel. Following the acquisition of a textile company and relocation of their headquarters, the company renamed the real estate branch to the George V Group. The real estate assets were later sold to Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE), eventually becoming Nexity.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
In 1973, he married Anne Dewavrin, together having two children, Delphine and Antoine. They separated in 1990. In 1991, he married Hélène Mercier, a Canadian concert pianist, together having three children, Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean. Arnault and Mercier live in Paris. All five children — Delphine, Antoine, Alexandre, Frédéric and Jean — have official roles in brands controlled by Arnault, along with his niece Stephanie Watine Arnault.
Alexandre is the EVP of Tiffany & Co, Frédéric is the CEO of TAG Heur, and Jean is the Director of Marketing and Development at Louis Vuitton. Since 2010, Arnault’s daughter Delphine has been the partner of Xavier Niel, a French billionaire businessman active in the telecommunications and technology industry.
WEALTH
In April 1999, Bernard Arnault became the richest person in fashion, topping Zara’s Amancio Ortega.In 2016, Arnault was paid €7.8 million as the CEO of the LVMH group In July 2019, Arnault became the second-richest man in the world, with a net worth of $103 billion.Arnault briefly surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the richest person in the world in December 2019,and again for a short time in January 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Arnault saw his wealth shrink by $30 billion as sales of luxury goods plummeted.
On 5 August 2021, he regained the status of wealthiest man in the world, with his net worth climbing to $198.4 billion. This occurred as sales of LVMH’s luxury goods surged in China and other parts of Asia.He is listed as “Bernard Arnault & Family” on the Forbes Billionaires list. Forbes estimates the Bernard Arnault & Family fortune to be $158 billion in 2022, positioning him ahead of Bill Gates.
Arnault owned the 70 m (230 ft) converted research vessel Amadeus, which was sold in late 2015. His current 101.5 m (333 ft) yacht Symphony was built in the Netherlands by Feadship. Arnault and his family have an estimated net worth of US$188.6 billion as of December 2022 according to Forbes, making him the richest person in the world, surpassing Elon Musk, whose fortunes took a hit after his handling of his Twitter purchase.
CAREER
After assuming the chairmanship of the company, Bernard began acquiring other companies such as Financier Agache, which was a luxury goods company. He also acquired a textile company that had suffered, Boussac Saint-Frères, and Peaudouce, a diaper manufacturing company.
In 1987 he became the CEO of LVMH and, in 1989, became the company’s chairman after buying a majority of the company’s shares. Today Arnault is one of the largest luxury groups in the world, alongside two other luxury companies Kering and Swiss luxury giant Richemont. He oversaw the acquisition of major companies such as Celine, Kenzo, Berluti, La Tribune, Les Echos, and Lowe’s. Arnault has also invested in other companies such as Boo.com, Zebank, Netflix, Colony Capital, Princess Yachts, and Château d’Yquem. Apart from business, Arnault is an art collector and his collection includes Andy Warhol, Henry Moore, Picasso, and Yves Klein among others.
EDUCATION AND AWARDS
Currently,Bernard Arnault is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH. He completed his diploma studies at Ecole Polytechnique in 1969-1971. Arnault attended Lycée Maxence Van Der Meersch in Roubaix and Lycée Faidherbe in Lille. He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, France’s top engineering school, in 1971 and started working for his father’s company. After three years of persuading his father to shift the company’s focus to real estate, Ferret-Savinel sold the industrial construction division and was renamed Ferinel. He also awarded more honors which are very effective.
- Grand Officer of the Legion d’Honneur on 14 July 2011
- Commander of the Legion d’Honneur on 10 February 2007.
- Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2012
- Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship in 2011.
- The Museum of Modern Art’s David Rockefeller Prize in March 2014.
- Member of the World’s Millionaires
POLITICAL VIEWS
In the second round of the 2017 French presidential election,Bernard Arnault supported Emmanuel Macron. Brigitte Macron was the French teacher of Arnault’s sons Frédéric and Jean when they were students at the Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague.