Bernard Arnault facts for kids

Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (born 5 March 1949) is a French businessman and art collector. He is the chairman and CEO of LVMH, which is the world's largest company for luxury goods. These goods include high-end fashion, jewelry, and wines. Arnault is known as one of the richest people in the world. In May 2025, his wealth was estimated to be around $148.7 billion by Forbes.

Born in Roubaix, France, Arnault grew up in a Catholic family. He studied engineering at École polytechnique and finished his studies in 1971. He started working at his father's company, Ferret-Savinel. He helped change the company's focus to real estate, which prepared him for his future in luxury businesses.

Arnault entered the luxury world in 1984 when he bought Boussac Saint-Frères. This company was struggling financially but owned the famous fashion brand Christian Dior. He made some tough business choices to improve Dior and sell off other parts of the company for profit. In 1987, he helped create LVMH. This company was formed by combining Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy. Through smart purchases and investments, Arnault built LVMH into a top company in the luxury industry. He helped it grow a lot and expand into many areas like fashion, jewelry, watches, and wine.

Arnault's influence goes beyond LVMH. He has also invested in internet companies and supports the arts. He has been involved in important real estate and yacht projects. Under his leadership, LVMH became the largest company in the eurozone based on its market value. Even with some challenges, Arnault's business skills have made him a very important person in the global luxury market.

Early Life and Education

Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault was born on 5 March 1949 in Roubaix, France. His mother, Marie-Josèphe Savinel, was a pianist who loved Dior. His father, Jean Léon Arnault, owned a civil engineering company. Bernard grew up in a strict Catholic home. He took classical piano lessons as a child. He went to Catholic schools, including Lycée Maxence Van Der Meersch in Roubaix and Lycée Faidherbe in Lille. These schools helped students prepare for top French engineering schools.

In 1971, he graduated from the École Polytechnique. This is one of France's leading engineering schools.

Bernard Arnault's Business Journey

After graduating in 1971, Arnault started working for his father's company. Three years later, he convinced his father to focus the company on real estate. The company sold its industrial construction part and was renamed Ferinel. After buying a textile company and moving its main office, the real estate part became the George V Group. These real estate assets were later sold to another company.

Starting His Career (1971–1987)

Arnault worked at Ferret-Savinel, which later became Nexity, from 1971. He was its president from 1978 to 1984. In 1984, Arnault, who was a young real estate developer, learned that the French government was looking for someone to take over Boussac Saint-Frères. This was a large textile and retail group that owned Christian Dior.

With help from Antoine Bernheim, a partner at Lazard Frères, Arnault bought Financière Agache. This was a luxury goods company. He became the CEO of Financière Agache. He then won the bid to buy Boussac Saint-Frères for a very small amount. After Arnault bought Boussac, he made tough decisions. He sold almost all of the company's assets. He only kept the Christian Dior brand and the Le Bon Marché department store. By 1987, the company was making a profit again.

Creating LVMH (1987–1989)

Arnault worked with Alain Chevalier, CEO of Moët Hennessy, and Henry Racamier, president of Louis Vuitton. Together, they formed LVMH in 1987. LVMH stands for Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy.

In July 1988, Arnault invested $1.6 billion to create a company with Guinness. This company owned 24% of LVMH's shares. There were rumors that the Louis Vuitton group was buying LVMH stock to gain more control. So, Arnault spent $600 million to buy 13.5% more of LVMH. This made him LVMH's biggest shareholder. LVMH was created to be too big for one person to take over easily. However, this idea didn't account for internal takeover attempts. Arnault and Henry Racamier, Louis Vuitton's president, had different ideas for the company.

In January 1989, Arnault spent another $500 million. This gave him control of 43.5% of LVMH's shares and 35% of its voting rights. This was enough to stop the company from being broken up. He then took control from Racamier and became the chairman of the executive management board on 13 January 1989.

LVMH's Growth and Expansion (1989–2001)

After becoming the leader, Arnault started an ambitious plan. He turned LVMH into one of the largest luxury groups in the world. In eleven years, the company's sales and profits grew five times. Its market value increased by 15 times. In July 1988, Arnault bought Céline. That same year, he supported French fashion designer Christian Lacroix. LVMH also bought Berluti and Kenzo in 1993. In the same year, Arnault bought the French economic newspaper La Tribune. He later sold it in November 2007 to buy another French economic newspaper, Les Échos.

In 1994, LVMH bought the perfume company Guerlain. In 1996, Arnault bought Loewe. He then bought Marc Jacobs and Sephora in 1997. Five more brands joined the group: Thomas Pink in 1999, Emilio Pucci in 2000, and Fendi, DKNY, and La Samaritaine in 2001.

In the 1990s, Arnault decided to build a center in New York. This center would manage LVMH's business in the United States. The LVMH Tower opened in December 1999. That same year, Arnault became interested in Gucci, an Italian leather goods company. He quietly bought a 5% share in the company. Gucci did not like this and called it a "creeping takeover." Arnault then increased his share to 34.4%. The fight continued until a settlement in September 2001. After the legal decision, LVMH sold its shares and made a profit of $700 million.

From 1998 to 2001, Arnault invested in several internet companies. These included Boo.com, Libertysurf, and Zebank. His company, Groupe Arnault, also invested in Netflix in 1999.

Continued Success and Growth (2001–Present)

In 2007, Arnault and Colony Capital bought 10.69% of Carrefour. This is France's largest supermarket retailer.

In 2008, he entered the yacht business. He bought Princess Yachts and then took control of Royal van Lent shipyard.

On 7 March 2011, Arnault announced that LVMH would buy 50.4% of the Italian jeweler Bulgari. The deal was worth $5.2 billion. In 2011, Arnault invested $641 million to create LCapitalAsia. In February 2014, Arnault started a joint venture with the Italian fashion brand Marco De Vincenzo. In 2016, LVMH sold DKNY. In April 2017, Arnault announced the purchase of Christian Dior's fashion lines. This brought the entire Christian Dior brand under LVMH.

By January 2018, Arnault had led LVMH to record sales of €42.6 billion in 2017. This was 13% more than the previous year. In November 2019, Arnault planned to buy Tiffany & Co. for about US$16.2 billion. The deal was completed in January 2021.

Under Arnault's leadership, LVMH has become the largest company in the eurozone by market value. In May 2021, its value was 313 billion euros. Arnault has encouraged the group's brands to operate somewhat independently. This means brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior are still seen as having their own unique history.

Arnault believes that brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior are successful because they are both timeless and very modern.

In November 2024, the Arnault family bought a majority share in the French football club Paris FC. The club was playing in Ligue 2, the second division of French football. Later that season, the club was promoted to Ligue 1 for the first time in 46 years.

Personal Life

Family

In 1973, Arnault married Anne Dewavrin. They had two children, Delphine and Antoine. They separated in 1990. In 1991, he married Hélène Mercier, a concert pianist from Canada. They have three sons: Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean. Arnault and Mercier live in Paris. Arnault has four grandchildren.

All five of his children have important roles in the brands controlled by Arnault. His niece, Stephanie Watine Arnault, also has a role. Alexandre is an executive at Tiffany & Co. Frédéric is the CEO of LVMH Watches. Jean is the Director of Watchmaking Marketing and Development at Louis Vuitton. Since 2010, Arnault's daughter Delphine has been with Xavier Niel, a French billionaire businessman. As of February 1, 2023, Delphine is the chief executive officer of the luxury brand Dior.

Wealth

In April 1999, Arnault was first recognized as the richest person in fashion. That same year, he set up Pilinvest, a holding company in Belgium. Through Pilinvest, Arnault held a large share in Agache, the company that owns a big part of LVMH. In 2008, he created Protectinvest, a private foundation in Belgium. This foundation was set up to protect the LVMH group until 2023. It made sure his children could not sell shares in Pilinvest until his youngest child turned 25.

In December 2011, he transferred a large share of Groupe Arnault to Pilinvest. 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. He briefly became the richest person in the world in December 2019 and again for a short time in January 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Arnault's wealth decreased as sales of luxury goods dropped.

On 5 August 2021, Arnault became the wealthiest man in the world again. His wealth grew to $198.4 billion as LVMH's luxury goods sales increased in China and other parts of Asia. He is listed as "Bernard Arnault & family" on the Forbes Billionaires list. In 2022, Arnault changed the legal structure of Agache. This was to ensure his family would keep control over LVMH for a long time.

Arnault and his family had an estimated peak net worth of $240.7 billion in April 2023. This made him the richest person in the world at that time, surpassing Elon Musk. However, Musk surpassed Arnault in June 2023. In May 2024, Arnault was the wealthiest person in the world, with about $218 billion. By June 14, 2024, Musk was in first place, Jeff Bezos in second, and Arnault was in third place with $194.2 billion.

Request for Belgian Citizenship

In 2013, it was reported that Arnault planned to apply for Belgian citizenship and might move to Belgium. In April 2013, Arnault said he was misunderstood. He stated he never intended to leave France. He said he would stay in France and continue to pay his taxes. He decided to withdraw his request for Belgian nationality. He explained that asking for Belgian nationality was to better protect a foundation he created. This foundation was meant to ensure the LVMH group would continue if he passed away.

On 10 April 2013, Arnault announced he had decided to drop his application for Belgian citizenship. He said he did not want his move to be seen as a way to avoid taxes. This was at a time when France was facing economic challenges. Arnault also said that some employees wanted to leave France for tax reasons. However, he declined their requests.

Transport

Arnault used to own a 70-meter (230 ft) converted research vessel called Amadeus. He sold it in late 2015. His current 101.5-meter (333 ft) yacht, Symphony, was built in the Netherlands.

In October 2022, Arnault stated that LVMH sold its private jet. This happened after someone on Twitter started tracking its flights. He said he began renting private aircraft for his personal and business trips instead.

Lifestyle

Arnault plays tennis every week. He also watches his weight and works continuously.

Art Collection

Arnault's art collection includes works by famous artists like Picasso, Yves Klein, Henry Moore, and Andy Warhol. He also helped make LVMH a major supporter of art in France. The LVMH Young Fashion Designer competition was created for students from fine arts schools. Each year, the winner receives money and a year of guidance to help them create their own fashion label.

From 1999 to 2003, he owned Phillips de Pury & Company, an art auction house. He also bought the first French auctioneer, Tajan. In 2006, Arnault started the building project for the Louis Vuitton Foundation. This foundation is dedicated to modern art. The building was designed by the architect Frank Gehry. The Foundation opened in Paris on 20 October 2014.

Awards and Honors

• Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur (France, 2023)
• Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France)
• Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy, 2006)
• Medal of Pushkin (Russia, 2017)
• Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (UK, 2012)
• The Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship (2011)
• The Museum of Modern Art's David Rockefeller Award (March 2014)

See also

In Spanish: Bernard Arnault para niños

• List of French billionaires by net worth