Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (French: [bɛʁnaːʁ aʁno]; born 5 March 1949) is a French business magnate, an investor, and an art collector.
Arnault is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company. He is the richest man and the second-richest person in France, and the 13th richest person in the world. In November 2016, his wealth was estimated to be US$37.3 billion.
Early life
After graduating from the Maxence Van Der Meersch High School in Roubaix, Arnault was admitted to École Polytechnique, from which he graduated with an Engineering degree in 1971.
His father, Jean Leon Arnault, a graduate of École Centrale Paris, was a manufacturer and the owner of the civil engineering company, Ferret-Savinel.
Career
Férinel
After graduation, Arnault joined his father’s company in 1971. In 1976, he convinced his father to liquidate the construction division of the company for 40 million French francs, and to change the focus of the company to real estate. Using the name Férinel, the new company developed a specialty in holiday accommodation. Named Director of Company Development in 1974, he became the CEO in 1977. In 1979, he succeeded his father as President of the company.
Christian Dior
In 1984, with the help of Antoine Bernheim, a Senior Partner of Lazard Frères et Cie., Arnault acquired the Financière Agache, a luxury goods company. He became the CEO of Financière Agache, and subsequently took control of Boussac, a textile company in turmoil. Boussac owned Christian Dior, the department store Le Bon Marché, the retail shop Conforama and the diapers industrial Peaudouce. He sold nearly all the company’s assets, keeping only the prestigious Christian Dior brand, and Le Bon Marché department store.
- One of the world’s ultimate taste-makers, Bernard Arnault oversees an empire of 70 brands including Louis Vuitton and Sephora.
- His luxury goods group, LVMH, posted record sales and profits in 2018, thanks in part to increased spending by Chinese customers.
- The arts patron is the visionary behind the $135 million Frank Gehry-designed Foundation Louis Vuitton museum near Paris, opened in 2014.
- Arnault and LVMH pledged over $220 million to help repair the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris following a devastating fire in mid April 2019.
- His daughter Delphine is executive vice president of Louis Vuitton, and a member of LVMH’s executive committee.
- His father made a small fortune in construction; Arnault put up $15 million from that business to buy Christian Dior in 1985.
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