{"id":23327,"date":"2023-05-02T13:10:40","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T12:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nkyeremunews.com\/?p=23327"},"modified":"2023-05-02T13:10:40","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T12:10:40","slug":"how-bernard-arnault-worlds-richest-person-became-wolf-in-cashmere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nkyeremunews.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/02\/how-bernard-arnault-worlds-richest-person-became-wolf-in-cashmere\/","title":{"rendered":"How Bernard Arnault, World’s Richest Person, Became Wolf In Cashmere"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Luxury conglomerate LVMH has\u00a0passed $500 billion<\/a>\u00a0in value, becoming the first European company to ever achieve this milestone. While the average person may not know LVMH, they definitely know the brands it owns, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Hennessy, Mo\u00ebt & Chandon, Givenchy, Princess Yachts, Tiffany & Co., TAG Heuer, and many more.<\/p>\n

This $500 billion mark cements the status of LVMH’s founder, Bernard Arnault, as the world’s richest person. Like his company, Arnault is likely not a household name, but\u00a0Forbes<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>puts his net worth at $243.4 billion.\u00a0In comparison<\/a>, the world’s second-richest person, Elon Musk, is worth $171.5 billion. Given LVMH’s ballooning value, it is likely that Arnault’s net worth will only continue to rise.<\/p>\n

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While the French-born Arnault is the face of the operation, his family also shares a sizable portion of this wealth. His daughter Delphine is the CEO of Dior and the vice president of Louis Vuitton, while his son Antoine is Dior’s vice-chair. Arnault’s other three children also have roles in LVMH-held brands,\u00a0The New York Times<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>reports, with major positions in Tiffany & Co., TAG Heuer, and Louis Vuitton.<\/p>\n

How did Arnault, who is not particularly recognizable\u00a0outside of luxury circles<\/a>, make it to the one percent of the one percent?<\/p>\n

Arnault’s beginnings<\/h3>\n

Bernard Arnault was born in\u00a0Roubaix, France, to an industrial family. Described by\u00a0France24<\/a>\u00a0as a man “driven by ambition who built his own empire,” Arnault told the\u00a0Financial Times<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>his mother had a love of Dior that was passed down to him.<\/p>\n

Arnault would eventually study engineering at the\u00a0\u00c9cole Polytechnique, one of the most prestigious universities in France,\u00a0Insider<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>reports, before making a small fortune working for his father’s construction business. Everything changed for Arnault, though, when he purchased a struggling textile company called\u00a0Agache-Willot-Boussac in 1984 for $15 million. This company owned a number of French department stores,\u00a0Insider\u00a0<\/em>adds, but also another more notable brand: Christian Dior.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Arnault sold almost all of\u00a0Agache-Willot-Boussac’s other brands to focus on bringing Dior to the top, with\u00a0The New York Times<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>reporting in the late 1980s that his goal was to create the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate. Within a few years, that plan was in motion.<\/p>\n

The creation of LVMH and the company’s future<\/h3>\n

After selling off most of\u00a0Agache-Willot-Boussac, Arnault used the profits to bring together two major luxury brands, Louis Vuitton and Mo\u00ebt Hennessy, with the three companies combining to form LVMH in 1987. Arnault eventually bought a controlling stake in the company in 1989, becoming its principal shareholder.<\/p>\n

With LVMH, headlined by Dior, now under his control, Arnault “led an aggressive expansion, turning LVMH into the world’s largest luxury goods firm,”\u00a0Forbes<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>reported, slowly acquiring all of the aforementioned brands plus other companies like Loewe, Sephora, Marc Jacobs, and Celine.<\/p>\n

Today, the company is by far the largest luxury conglomerate on the planet, controlling more than 70 brands. Its revenues in 2022 totaled $86 billion,\u00a0according to\u00a0Forbes.\u00a0<\/em>Arnault\u00a0overtook Musk<\/a>\u00a0to become the world’s richest person in December of that year. His aggressive acquisitions have earned Arnault both admiration and ire, with\u00a0The Wall Street Journal<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>noting that many in the industry call him a\u00a0“wolf in cashmere.”<\/p>\n