LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault is the third person after Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to accumulate a fortune exceeding $200 billion.
The fortune of Bernard Arnault, the world's richest person, has surpassed $200 billion for the first time as shares in his French luxury goods empire LVMH hit a record high.
French billionaire Bernard Arnault
Tesla's Elon Musk and Amazon's Jeff Bezos previously reached the $200 billion mark before their fortunes took a "huge" hit as tech companies' stock prices plunged, according to Business Insider .
Bernard Arnault’s fortune increased by $2.4 billion at the end of April 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is updated daily. His fortune has increased by $39 billion this year thanks to a 30% rise in LVMH shares as demand for luxury goods among the world’s wealthy skyrocketed.
The French billionaire's fortune is $30 billion more than Elon Musk, whose fortune has been "knocked out" by the $44 billion Twitter purchase and a 50% drop in the value of electric car company Tesla's stock over the past year. Musk is Tesla's co-founder, CEO and 13% shareholder.
Jeff Bezos, who first reached the $200 billion mark in August 2020, is the third richest person in the world with a fortune of $125 billion.
Bernard Arnault is the chairman and CEO of LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Moët & Chandon champagne. LVMH shares have risen more than 150% over the past three years, hitting a new high of $940 per share.
LVMH posted record revenue of $87 billion last year and began a $1.65 billion share buyback, helping to further boost its share price.
Arnault co-founded the luxury goods group 35 years ago and is its majority shareholder, and has recently appointed his children to key roles in the business.
In January 2023, her eldest daughter, Delphine, was appointed head of Christian Dior, the empire's second-largest brand. Her brother, Antoine, was promoted to run the holding company that controls LVMH and the Arnault family's fortune.
His three younger children also have important jobs in the world's largest luxury goods company, which includes brands such as Stella McCartney, TAG Heuer, Bvlgari and Tiffany. Alexandre Arnault is CEO of Tiffany; Frédéric Arnault is CEO of TAG Heuer, while the youngest brother Jean Arnault heads marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton's watch brand.
Long journey with relentless efforts
Bernard Arnault (74) has built his fortune over nearly four decades, amassing a luxury goods empire that includes some of the most famous names in fashion, jewelry and wine, including Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, Dom Pérignon.
Arnault currently owns 97.5% of Christian Dior shares, controlling 41.4% of LVMH shares.
The billionaire was born in the northern French town of Roubaix. He studied engineering at one of France's most prestigious schools, the École Polytechnique. After graduating, Arnault went to work for his father's construction company, Ferret-Savinel.
Bernard Arnault and Hélène Mercier
In 1984, he acquired the ailing Agache-Willot-Boussac, which owned brands such as the French department store Bon Marché and the fashion house Christian Dior.
He renamed the company Financière Agache and initiated a restructuring, cutting costs and selling off some of the company's businesses.
Soon after, he bought the fashion house Celine and funded the French designer Christian Lacroix. In the late 1980s, Arnault said his goal was to run the world's largest luxury company within the next decade. He then set his sights on LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, spending $2.6 billion to become the company's largest shareholder, and eventually became chairman and CEO in 1989.
Guiding children towards business career
Bernard Arnault married Anne Dewavrin in 1973, and had two children together before separating in 1990. He remarried in 1991 to Hélène Mercier, a Canadian concert pianist. Like many billionaires, Arnault lives a lavish lifestyle.
He travels by private plane.
He travels by private jet, owns a sprawling vacation home in glitzy Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, and has spent at least $96.4 million on other properties in Beverly Hills, Trousdale Estates and Hollywood, California.
The French billionaire and his wife live in Paris, south of the Seine, a historic area that includes the Latin Quarter and St. Germain-des-Prés. At home, Arnault keeps a collection of modern and contemporary art by artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Maurizio Cattelan, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso.
Arnault has five children: two with his first wife and three with his current wife. Antoine and Delphine Arnault are his two children from his first marriage.
Three children followed: Alexandre, Frédéric and Jean from his second marriage to Mercier.
Delphine, Arnault's eldest daughter, is the heiress to the LVMH empire. She began her career at American consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in Paris and is executive vice president of Louis Vuitton.
Pablo Picasso's Tete De Femme
In January 2019, Delphine became the youngest member of LVMH's executive board at the age of 43.
Delphine became CEO and President of Christian Dior Couture. She married Italian wine heir Alessandro Vallarino Gancia in 2005 in what Forbes magazine called "the wedding of the year in France" at the time. The couple divorced in 2010. She is now married to tech billionaire Xavier Niel, with whom she has a daughter.
Delphine is notoriously private about her personal life. In a 2014 interview with the Financial Times , she said: "I'm quite private. I think I'd rather focus on my work."
Alexandre, Frédéric, Jean Arnault, Helene Mercier, Bernard, Delphine, and Antoine Arnault (from left to right)
Delphine's younger brother, Antoine, is the CEO of Christian Dior, a holding company of LVMH. He is also the CEO of menswear label Berluti and the chairman of cashmere label Loro Piana, both of which are owned by LVMH. He is married to supermodel Natalia Vodianova, whom he met on a 2008 Louis Vuitton ad campaign shoot while he was the brand's head of communications. The couple live in Paris with their two children and Vodianova's three children from a previous marriage.
Delphine becomes CEO and President of Christian Dior Couture
Alexandre, son of Bernard Arnault and Mercier, is executive vice president of Tiffany & Co. following LVMH's acquisition of the jewelry brand. Alexandre's younger brother, Frédéric, is CEO of TAG Heuer. Arnault's youngest son, Jean, joined the family business in 2021.
Antoine Arnault and Natalia Vodianova
Bernard Arnault rubs shoulders with some of the world's most influential figures
In 2017, Bernard Arnault met with US President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City, just before Trump's inauguration, to discuss expanding LVMH factories in the US. Arnault is also a friend of Apple founder Steve Jobs.
In 2017, Bernard Arnault met US President Donald Trump
Arnault is also a longtime friend of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and was a witness at Sarkozy's wedding to singer and model Carla Bruni.
Arnault (left) is also a long-time friend of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Arnault shook hands with Vladimir Putin during the Russian president's 2003 visit to the Château Cheval Blanc vineyard in France, owned by LVMH. He considered legendary designer and Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld a good friend. "The death of this dear friend has saddened me, my wife and our children," Arnault said in a statement after Lagerfeld's death in 2019. "We loved and admired him immensely. Fashion and culture have lost a great inspiration."
Arnault shakes hands with Vladimir Putin during the Russian President's 2003 visit to the Château Cheval Blanc vineyard in France
Over the years, Arnault has built LVMH into the world's largest luxury conglomerate and earned himself the nickname "the wolf in cashmere." He was behind the creation of the Foundation Louis Vuitton, a Frank Gehry-designed contemporary art museum and performance space in Paris that opened in 2014.
In April 2019, LVMH issued a statement on behalf of the Bernard Arnault family, pledging 200 million euros, or about $218.8 million, to help rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was severely damaged in a 2019 fire.
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