Net Worth & Profile
Bernard Arnault | Biography, Career and Networth
Bernard Arnault is the richest person in Europe and the third richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $167 billion.
Bernard Arnault is a Frech businessman and billionaire with an estimated net worth of $167 billion, making him the richest person in Europe and the third richest person in the world. He is the chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, a multinational corporation and conglomerate specialising in luxury goods.
Bio Data
| Full Name | Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault |
| Date of Birth | 5 March 1949 |
| Gender | Male |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Career | Business Man |
| Networth | $167 billion |
| Companies | LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE |
| Nationality | French |
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Biography
Bernard Arnault was born on the 5th of March 1949, in Roubaix, France to Marie-Josèphe Savinel and Jean Léon Arnault a manufacturer who owned the civil engineering company Ferret-Savinel.
He 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, he began his career working for his father’s company.
He is presently married to married Hélène Mercier, a Canadian concert pianist, together they have three children, Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean. Prior to that, he was previously married to Anne Dewavrin, they got separated in 1990 despite having two children, Delphine and Antoine.
Career
Bernard Arnault began his career as a real estate developer in 1971 at the at Ferret-Savinel, he was the president of the company from 1978 to 1984. In 1984, he acquired Financière Agache, a luxury goods company and Boussac Saint-Frères a textile and retail conglomerate that owned Christian Dior.
After the Boussac acquisition, Bernard laid off 9,000 workers in two years, after which he acquired the nickname “The Terminator”. He sold nearly all of the company’s assets, keeping only the Christian Dior brand and Le Bon Marché department store. By 1987, the company was profitable again and booked earnings of $112 million on a revenue stream of $1.9 billion dollars.
In the 1980s, Bernard Arnault had the idea to create a group of luxury brands. He worked with Alain Chevalier, CEO of Moët Hennessy, and Henry Racamier, president of Louis Vuitton, to form LVMH. Their successful integration of various famous aspirational brands into a single group inspired other luxury companies to do the same.
He spent over $1.5 Billion to acquire over 37% shares of LVMH in 1988 and another $500 million to gain control of 43.5% shares of the company in 1989. The same year he was unanimously elected chairman of the executive management board.
After assuming leadership, Arnault led the company through an ambitious development plan, transforming it into one of the largest luxury groups in the world and the largest company by market capitalization in the Eurozone, with a record of 313 billion euros ($382 billion) as of May 2021.
Aside from LVMH, his other investment includes Netflix, and Carrefour, France’s largest supermarket retailer and the world’s second-largest food distributor.
Bernard is also an art collector, his art collection includes the work of Picasso, Yves Klein, Henry Moore, and Andy Warhol. He owned Phillips de Pury & Company, an art auction house, and bought out the first French auctioneer, Tajan.
Networth
According to Forbes Magazine, Bernard Arnault presently has an estimated net worth of $167 billion, making him the richest person in Europe and the third richest person in the World, behind Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. In April 1999, he became the richest person in fashion.
On 24 May 2021, Arnault temporarily became the richest man in the world, surpassing Jeff Bezos with a net worth of 187.3 billion dollars. A few hours later, however, Amazon stock went up and Jeff Bezos reclaimed the spot.