Bernard Arnault 3rd Richest Person, Biography and Net Worth

6 min readJan 19, 2023

Bernard Arnault Biography

Bernard Arnault Young

Bernard Arnault is a French business magnate and investor, currently the richest person in France and one of the richest in the world. He was born as Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault on 5 March 1949, in Roubaix, France as the son of Jean Leon Arnault. He attended Maxence Van Der Meersch High School in Roubaix. After completing his schooling he graduated with a degree in engineering in 1971. He joined his father’s company after graduating from college.

Bernard Arnault Assets

He started planning for the company’s expansion and growth in 1976 he was successful in convincing his father to liquidate the construction division of the company and invest the proceeds in a more lucrative business. Bernard Arnault became the director of company development in 1974 and was named the CEO in 1977. He succeeded his father as president of the company in 1979. The French Socialists came to power in 1981, forcing Arnault and his family to move to the United States. He was made a Commander of the French Legion of Honour in 2007 and Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour in 2011.

In 2011, he was presented with the Corporate Citizenship award from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Bernard Arnault has been married twice. His second wife, Helene Mercier is a pianist. He has two children from his first marriage and three from his second marriage. He is a famous art collector and has pieces by Picasso, Yves Klein, Henry Moore, and Andy Warhol in his collection. Bernard Arnault is a French business magnate, investor, and art collector, with an estimated net worth of US $136 billion according to Forbes.

Bernard Arnault Childhood and Early Life

Bernard Arnault Age

He was born as Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault on 5 March 1949, in Roubaix, France as the son of Jean Leon Arnault. His father was a manufacturer who owned a civil engineering company, Ferret-Savinel.

Bernard Arnault Education and Degree

He attended Maxence Van Der Meersch High School in Roubaix. After completing his schooling he entered the prestigious École Polytechnique and graduated with a degree in engineering in 1971.[1]

Personal Life

Bernard Arnault Family

Bernard Arnault Wife/ Ex wife/ Children

Bernard Arnault has been married twice. First, he married Anne Dewavrin and with her, Bernard has two children but in 1990 they both got divorced. After that in 1991, He married his second wife, Helene Mercier is a pianist and they both have three children together.[2]

Career

Bernard Arnault All Companies

He joined his father’s company after graduating from college. He started planning for the company’s expansion and growth and in 1976 he was successful in convincing his father to liquidate the construction division of the company and invest the proceeds in a more lucrative business.
The Arnaults received 40 million French francs from the liquidation of the construction division which they invested in the real estate business, which was then a booming sector. Now renamed Ferinel, the company became a very successful one with a specialty in holiday accommodation.
Bernard Arnault became the director of company development in 1974 and was named the CEO in 1977. He succeeded his father as president of the company in 1979.

The French Socialists came to power in 1981, forcing Arnault and his family to move to the United States. Being the astute businessman that he was, he prospered there too, developing condominiums in Palm Beach, Florida. Eventually, he began to build a U.S. branch of his family’s property business.
The political scenario in his native France changed in 1983. The French Socialists switched to a more conservative economic course and Arnault decided to return home.
The enterprising businessman saw a lucrative opportunity when the textile firm, Boussac Saint-Frères, went bankrupt. The textile empire comprised several businesses, including the couture house of Christian Dior. Arnault collaborated with Antoine Bernheim, managing partner of the investment firm Lazard Fréres who arranged the financing for Arnault’s acquisition of Boussac.
Arnault invested $15 million of his own money, and Bernheim helped him to raise the remainder of the reported $80 million purchase price of Boussac Saint-Frères. Upon this acquisition, Arnault sold most of the company’s assets, retaining only the prestigious Christian Dior brand and Le Bon Marché department store. He became the CEO of Dior in 1985.
After selling off most of the assets of Boussac, Arnault gained $400 million in the process. In 1987, he was invited to invest in LVMH by the company’s chairman, Henri Racamier. Arnault chose to invest through a joint venture with Guinness PLC which held 24% of LVMH’s shares. Over the next couple of years, he continued to buy more shares in the company, spending several hundred million in the process.
By January 1989, Arnault had managed to gain control over 43.5% of the shares of LVMH with 35% of the voting rights. He was then unanimously elected chairman of the executive management board.
After taking over LVMH, he fired several of the company’s top executives and chose to recruit new talent to revitalize the company. He was a tough taskmaster and was known for his inclination to quickly terminate employees who did not deliver according to his expectations.
He set about implementing an ambitious plan of growth and expansion of his businesses and acquired several other companies over the 1990s, including the perfume firm Guerlain (1994), Loewe (1996), Marc Jacobs (1997), Sephora (1997), and Thomas Pink (1999).[3]

Bernard Arnault Business and major works

Bernard Arnault’s takeover of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH was a highly ambitious one. He displayed his characteristic determination and ruthlessness in the systematic and well-calculated takeover of the company, and his successful integration of various famous aspirational brands into the group has inspired several other fashion companies throughout the world to do the same.[4]

Carrefour Bernard Arnault Awards & Achievements

He was made a Commander of the French Legion of Honour in 2007 and Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour in 2011.
In 2011, he was presented with the Corporate Citizenship award from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.[5]

Bernard Arnault Net Worth

Bernard Arnault is a French billionaire who earned his fortune as the chairman and chief executive of the world’s largest luxury goods company, LVMH. As of this writing, Bernard Arnault has a net worth of 21,100 crores USD . His net worth makes him one of the richest people in the world behind people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.

Bernard Arnault Quotes

FAQ

What is Bernard Arnault famous for?

He seems to be the co-founder, president, and CEO of the ‘s tallest luxury goods company, LVMH Mot Hennessy — Louis Vuitton SE. According to Forbes, Arnault’s net worth is estimated to be US$204 billion as of Jan 2023, making him the world’s richest person.

Who owns Louis Vuitton right now?

Mr. Arnault has become the major shareholder of LVMH Mot Hennessy — Louis Vuitton in 1989, establishing the world’s largest luxury goods group. Mr. Arnault has served as the company’s Chairman and CEO since that time.

How many companies Bernard Arnault owns?

Bernard Arnault is the CEO of the LVMH empire, which includes 70 fashion and beauty products brands such as Louis Vuitton as well as Sephora.