Bernard Arnault
Born 1949 · Age 76
French businessman, investor and art collector; chairman and CEO of LVMH, builder of the world's largest luxury-goods group and one of the world's richest individuals.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Roubaix, France
Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault was born in Roubaix into a family with a manufacturing/engineering background.
Joined father's firm Ferret-Savinel
Began his professional career at Ferret-Savinel, his father's civil engineering/construction company.
Graduated École Polytechnique (engineering)
Completed studies in civil engineering and mathematics at France's École Polytechnique.
Married Anne Dewavrin
First marriage; they had two children together, Delphine and Antoine.
Shifted Ferret-Savinel to real estate; renamed Ferinel
Convinced father to sell industrial construction division, refocus on real estate; company renamed Férinel (Ferinel).
Became president of Ferret-Savinel (1978–1984)
Served as president of his family's company (Ferret-Savinel/Ferinel) prior to focusing full-time on luxury/investments.
Acquired Financière Agache and Boussac Saint-Frères (including Christian Dior)
Through Financière Agache (with Antoine Bernheim and Lazard support) Arnault took control of bankrupt Boussac Saint-Frères; group included Christian Dior and Le Bon Marché. Reportedly bought group for a ceremonial 1 franc.
Laid off 9,000 Boussac employees (1984–1986)
After acquisition he cut large portions of the workforce and sold many assets, keeping Dior and Le Bon Marché.
Co-founded LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy)
Worked with Alain Chevalier and Henry Racamier to form the LVMH conglomerate, merging Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy.
Spent $600M to increase LVMH stake (13.5% more)
Arnault purchased an additional 13.5% of LVMH for about $600 million to assert control.
Sponsored Christian Lacroix
Sponsored French designer Christian Lacroix to promote LVMH luxury clothing lines.
Provided $1.6B to form holding with Guinness (24% of LVMH)
In July 1988 Arnault arranged $1.6 billion to form a holding company with Guinness that held roughly 24% of LVMH.
Acquired Céline
Céline became part of the LVMH group under Arnault's expansion in 1988.
Spent $500M to reach 43.5% of LVMH
In January 1989 he invested a further $500M to increase his stake, reaching 43.5% of shares and 35% voting rights.
Elected chairman of LVMH executive management board
On 13 January 1989 Arnault was unanimously elected chairman of LVMH's executive management board and consolidated control, ousting Henry Racamier.
Separated/divorced Anne Dewavrin
Separated from first wife Anne Dewavrin in 1990 (divorced).
Married Hélène Mercier
Married Canadian-born concert pianist Hélène Mercier; they have three sons: Alexandre, Frédéric and Jean.
Acquired Berluti and Kenzo; bought La Tribune
LVMH added Berluti and Kenzo to its portfolio; Arnault bought the French economic paper La Tribune (reported large investment).
LVMH acquired Guerlain
Perfume firm Guerlain integrated into LVMH's perfumes & cosmetics division.
Acquired Loewe
Spanish luxury leather brand Loewe joined the LVMH portfolio.
Acquired Marc Jacobs and Sephora
Marc Jacobs (brand/stylist partnership) and the beauty retailer Sephora were added to LVMH.
Purchased Château Cheval Blanc (with Albert Frère)
In a personal capacity Arnault and Albert Frère bought the prestigious wine estate Château Cheval Blanc.
Invested in internet startups via Europatweb (1998–2001)
Groupe Arnault/Europatweb invested in Boo.com, Libertysurf, Zebank and others during the dot-com era.
Created Pilinvest (holding company in Belgium)
Pilinvest Participations / Pilinvest Investissements set up (reported 1999) as a family holding vehicle.
Invested in Netflix (1999)
Groupe Arnault invested in Netflix during its early fundraising (reported in press as a ~$30M influx around 1999).
Opened LVMH Tower in New York
The LVMH Tower opened in Manhattan in December 1999 to manage LVMH's U.S. presence.
Integrated Fendi, DKNY and La Samaritaine (around 2001)
LVMH continued expansion adding brands including Fendi, DKNY and the La Samaritaine department store.
Settled Gucci stake dispute; sold shares with ~$700M profit
After a multi-year stake-building episode, LVMH withdrew and sold its Gucci holdings in Sept 2001, reportedly pocketing about $700M.
Owned Phillips de Pury & Company (1999–2003)
Held the Phillips de Pury auction house during 1999–2003 period (acquired 1999, sold 2003).
Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2006)
Received Italy's Grand Officer Order of Merit in 2006.
Joint stake in Carrefour reported (~10.69%)
Blue Capital/Colony Capital reported Arnault jointly owned 10.69% of Carrefour with Colony in 2007.
Sold La Tribune and bought Les Echos for €240M
Sold La Tribune (which had not achieved desired success) and acquired Les Échos for €240 million in November 2007.
Took control of Royal van Lent shipyard
Acquired the Royal van Lent shipyard for an amount reported as almost identical to the Princess Yachts purchase.
Established Protectinvest foundation (Belgium)
Created Protectinvest in Belgium to safeguard the integrity of control of LVMH and limit share sales by children until 2023.
Acquired Princess Yachts for €253M
Entered the yacht business (Princess Yachts purchased for €253 million).
Children occupy leadership roles across LVMH brands (ongoing)
All five children and a niece have official roles in brands controlled by Arnault; examples: Alexandre (EVP Tiffany), Frédéric (CEO LVMH Watches), Jean (LV watch marketing).
Appointed to 1MDB Board of Advisors
Became a member of the Board of Advisors of Malaysia's 1MDB fund (served from 2010 until 2013).
Prominent art patronage and collecting expands
Arnault's art collection (Picasso, Warhol, Yves Klein, Moore) and patronage grew; created LVMH Young Fashion Designer prize and commissioned Fondation Louis Vuitton.
Received Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship
Honored with the Woodrow Wilson Award in 2011 for his corporate citizenship globally.
Established LCapitalAsia ($641M investment)
Arnault invested approximately $641 million to establish the private equity vehicle LCapitalAsia.
Acquired majority of Bulgari (50.4%) — $5.2B transaction
Announced acquisition of 50.4% of family-owned shares of Bulgari and tender offer for remaining publicly held shares; deal worth about $5.2B.
Appointed Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)
Awarded honorary KBE by the United Kingdom in October 2012.
Considered applying for Belgian citizenship (2013)
Publicly disclosed planning to apply for Belgian nationality to protect a Belgian foundation; later withdrew application.
Reported collaboration: LCapitalAsia to assist QDA stores (Mar 7, 2013)
National Business Daily reported that mid-priced clothing brand QDA would open stores in Beijing with help from LCapitalAsia and Xin Hee.
Withdrew Belgian citizenship application
Announced withdrawal of his Belgian nationality request to avoid public interpretation as tax evasion.
Joint venture: 45% stake in Marco de Vincenzo
Entered into a joint venture with Italian brand Marco De Vincenzo, taking a 45% minority stake.
Received MoMA's David Rockefeller Award (March 2014)
Honored by the Museum of Modern Art with the David Rockefeller Award.
Opened Fondation Louis Vuitton (Frank Gehry design)
Grand opening of the Fondation Louis Vuitton contemporary art museum in Paris, a project Arnault initiated and funded; designed by Frank Gehry.
Owns Symphony (101.5 m yacht built by Feadship)
Reported owner of the 101.5 m superyacht Symphony, built by Dutch yard Feadship (current yacht ownership).
Sold research vessel Amadeus (late 2015)
Sold his converted 70m research vessel Amadeus in late 2015.
Sold DKNY to G-III Apparel Group
LVMH sold the Donna Karan International (DKNY) brand to G-III Apparel Group.
Appointed various high-profile designers (e.g., John Galliano, Marc Jacobs earlier)
Arnault made key creative hires — e.g., John Galliano at Dior, Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton — decisions that revived houses' fortunes (1990s–2000s era milestones).
Named Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Recognized for contributions to the arts in France (date not precisely specified in article but recorded as a title).
Received Medal of Pushkin (Russia)
Awarded the Medal of Pushkin by Russia in 2017.
Appointed the 'Pope/Wolf' of fashion by press (career recognition)
Arnault acquired a reputation as dominant force in luxury; press sobriquets include 'The Terminator' earlier and 'a wolf in cashmere' for acquisition tactics.
Became subject of succession planning and family holdings structuring
Set up Protectinvest (2008) and later Pilinvest and restructured Agache to protect family control and guide succession.
Appointed Grand Officer honors and other international recognitions (aggregate)
Over career Arnault has accumulated multiple international honors (Italy, UK honorary KBE 2012, Russian Medal of Pushkin 2017, French honors culminating in 2023 Grand Cross).
Received Medal of Pushkin (Russia) and other honors
Among other recognitions around this period, Arnault received the Russian Medal of Pushkin in 2017.
Integrated Christian Dior fully into LVMH
Arnault announced acquisition of Christian Dior haute couture and multiple ready-to-wear and leather lines, integrating the full Dior brand into LVMH.
Announced plan to acquire Tiffany & Co. for ~$16.2B
LVMH agreed to purchase Tiffany for approximately $16.2 billion, deal announced November 2019 with expected 2020 close.
Briefly became world's richest person (Dec 2019 & Jan 2020)
Arnault briefly surpassed Jeff Bezos in December 2019 and again in January 2020 to be the world's richest person.
COVID-19 impact: wealth dropped by approximately $30B
During the pandemic Arnault's wealth reportedly fell by about $30 billion as luxury sales plunged.
LVMH declared Tiffany deal 'invalid' amid pandemic; litigation followed
In Sept 2020 LVMH said Tiffany's handling of the pandemic invalidated the agreement; Tiffany sued and LVMH counter-sued alleging mismanagement and dividend payments.
Forbes reporting: Tiffany paid $140M dividends despite $32M loss
Forbes reported that Tiffany had paid out $140M in pandemic dividends, a factor prompting Arnault's legal/financial examination.
Agreement to buy Tiffany at reduced price (~$16B; $131.50/share)
In late Oct 2020 the two sides agreed to proceed with the acquisition at a slightly reduced total price (~$16B, $131.50 per share).
Completed acquisition of Tiffany & Co.
LVMH completed the purchase of Tiffany in January 2021, adding the iconic U.S. jeweler to the group.
LVMH became largest eurozone company by market capitalization (~€313B)
Under Arnault's leadership LVMH reached a record market cap of €313 billion (May 2021).
Regained world's richest person status (5 Aug 2021) — net worth $198.4B
On 5 August 2021 Arnault was reported as the wealthiest person with net worth of about $198.4 billion as LVMH sales surged.
Restructured Agache for long-term family control
Changed legal structure of Agache to a joint-stock partnership in 2022 to secure family control over LVMH for the long term.
Forbes estimate: Bernard Arnault & family fortune ≈ $158B (2022)
Forbes estimated the family's fortune at about $158 billion in 2022.
LVMH brands decentralization strategy emphasized
Arnault promoted decentralization of LVMH brands so maisons operate independently while benefiting from group resources.
Sold private jet after Twitter tracking (Oct 2022)
Announced LVMH sold his Bombardier Global 7500 jet after its flights were being tracked publicly; began renting aircraft instead.
Delphine Arnault appointed CEO of Dior (effective Feb 1, 2023)
Arnault's daughter Delphine named chief executive officer of the luxury brand Dior.
Peak Forbes net worth estimate: US$240.7B (April 2023)
Forbes reported that Bernard Arnault & family reached a peak estimated net worth of US$240.7 billion in April 2023, making him the richest person at that time.
Awarded Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur
Officially elevated to the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (decree dated 29 Dec 2023 published/recorded 31 Dec 2023).
Bloomberg estimate: wealth ≈ US$218B (May 2024)
Bloomberg Billionaires Index listed Arnault at about US$218 billion in May 2024.
Forbes listing: net worth US$194.2B (14 June 2024)
Forbes reported Arnault's net worth at US$194.2 billion on 14 June 2024 (ranked 3rd that day).
Arnault family acquired majority stake in Paris FC
The Arnault family purchased majority ownership of Paris FC, then playing in French Ligue 2.
Paris FC promoted to Ligue 1 (first time in 46 years)
After the family acquisition the club achieved promotion to France's Ligue 1 the same season.
Attended U.S. presidential inauguration (Jan 2025)
Attended the second inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump (reported attendance by several global business leaders).
Forbes & Bloomberg net worth update (May 2025)
As of May 2025 Forbes estimated Arnault's net worth at US$148.7B and Bloomberg at US$155B.
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