Who is Bernard Arnault? The LVMH founder is the third-richest man in the world
Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury-goods conglomerate LVMH, has brought all five of his children into the business.
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Bernard Arnault is the world's third-richest man. He has a net worth of $200 billion, per Bloomberg.
He controls the massive luxury conglomerate LVMH, and his children all hold roles in the business.
Here's a look at his career rise and how he spends his fortune.
No name is perhaps more synonymous with the world of luxury goods than Bernard Arnault.
Arnault, the 75-year-old CEO of French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, or LVMH for short, built his fortune over almost four decades, amassing a luxury-goods empire that includes some of the best-known brands in fashion, jewelry, and alcohol, including Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, and Dom Pérignon.
In 1984, Arnault acquired an ailing company called Agache-Willot-Boussac.
LVMH vice president Alain Chevalier and Bernard Arnault, then CEO of Financière Agache, at an event in Paris in 1988.
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Agache-Willot-Boussac owned brands like French department store Bon Marché and the fashion house Christian Dior, according to The New York Times. He renamed the firm Financière Agache and initiated a turnaround, cutting costs and selling off some of its businesses, the Times reported.
The moves helped the company earn an additional $112 million on revenue of $1.9 billion just a few years later.
Arnault bought Celine and funded designer Christian LaCroix after helping bring in additional revenue for Financière Agache.
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In 1987, he bought the fashion house Celine and funded the French designer Christian Lacroix, according to The New York Times.
In the late 1980s, Arnault said his goal was to run the world's largest luxury company within the following decade.
Arnault became chairman and CEO of LVMH in 1989.
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He then set his sights on LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, spending $2.6 billion buying up shares to become the company's largest shareholder. He became chairman and CEO by 1989, according to The New York Times.
Arnault married Anne Dewavrin in 1973.
Arnault and his now ex-wife Anne Dewavrin.
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The couple had two children, and during their marriage, Arnault moved the family to the United States for a couple of years in "open reaction to the rise of the French Socialists and their determination to tax the rich," according to France24.
He and Dewavrin separated in 1990, according to the Financial Times.
Arnault then married concert pianist Hélène Mercier in 1991.
Bernard Arnault and his second wife, Canadian concert pianist Hélène Mercier.
Reuters
Arnault reportedly wooed her by playing Chopin and other classical composers for her, according to Forbes.
Like many of his fellow billionaires, Arnault lives a lavish life.
Bernard Arnault on board his private jet between Beijing and Shanghai.
The French billionaire and his wife live on Paris's Left Bank.
Arnault poses in front of his Basquiat collection in his Paris home.
FANTHOMME Hubert / Contributor/Getty Images
The Left Bank, which lies south of the Seine River, is a historic area that includes neighborhoods such as the Latin Quarter and St. Germain-des-Prés.
Arnault also has an impressive art collection of both modern and contemporary paintings that includes pieces by artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Maurizio Cattelan, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso, according to Bloomberg.
Arnault has five children: two with his first wife and three with his current wife.
From left: Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean Arnault, Hélène Mercier, and Bernard, Delphine, and Antoine Arnault.
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Antoine and Delphine Arnault are his two children from his first marriage, while his youngest three — Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean — are from his second marriage to Mercier, according to The New York Times.
Delphine, Arnault's oldest daughter, has established herself as a central figure in the LVMH empire.
Delphine Arnault became CEO of Christian Dior Couture in 2023.
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She started her career at the American consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. in Paris and was the executive vice president at Louis Vuitton, according to Business of Fashion. In January 2019, Delphine became the youngest member of LVMH's executive committee at age 43, according to fashion publication MDS. Delphine became CEO and chair of Christian Dior Couture in 2023.
Delphine married Italian wine heir Alessandro Vallarino Gancia in 2005, in what Forbes called "France's wedding of the year."
Delphine Arnault at her wedding to Alessandro Vallarino Gancia.
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The couple divorced in 2010. She now reportedly lives with tech billionaire Xavier Niel and has two children.
Delphine is notoriously private about her personal life. In a 2014 interview with the Financial Times, she said, "I'm quite discreet. I think I'd rather focus on my work."
Delphine's younger brother Antoine is CEO of Christian Dior SE, the holding company of LVMH, a role he was appointed to in December 2022.
Antoine Arnault was appointed the CEO of Christian Dior SE in December 2022.
Antoine is married to supermodel Natalia Vodianova.
Antoine Arnault and his wife, model Natalia Vodianova, whom he met in 2008.
Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP
They reportedly met on a shoot for a 2008 Louis Vuitton campaign when he was the brand's head of communications.
The couple lives in Paris with their two children, and Vodianova's three children from a previous marriage, according to W Magazine.
Alexandre, the son of Bernard Arnault and Mercier, became an executive VP at Tiffany & Co. after LVMH bought the jewelry brand.
Alexandre Arnault, the executive vice president of product and communications at Tiffany & Co.
REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
LVMH acquired Tiffany & Co. in 2021, after which Alexandre became the company's executive vice president of product and communications. Prior to moving over to Tiffany, Alexandre was the CEO of Rimowa, a German luggage brand owned by LVMH.
Alexandre is longtime friends with Evan Spiegel, the chief executive of Snap. Spiegel told The New York Times that Alexandre is "a really creative guy" and that "he's constantly thinking about the brand and how to express that."
Alexandre's younger brother Frédéric is CEO of LVMH Watches.
Bernard Arnault and his son Frédéric Arnault in June 2018.
Jean Arnault has a master's degree in financial mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a master's in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London. According to his LinkedIn profile, he interned at Morgan Stanley and McLaren Racing and worked in a Louis Vuitton retail store before joining the company full-time.
Arnault's network naturally includes many people in high places. Arnault is reportedly longtime friends with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Bernard Arnault and Nicolas Sarkozy in 1994.
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He was a witness at Sarkozy's wedding to singer and model Carla Bruni, according to The New York Times.
Arnault can be seen shaking hands with Vladimir Putin during the Russian president's 2003 visit to the Château Cheval Blanc vineyard in France, which LVMH owns.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Château Cheval Blanc on February 12, 2003.
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The 39-hectare vineyard is located in France's winemaking region of Bordeaux, according to LVMH's website.
Arnault considered the legendary designer and Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld a good friend.
Karl Lagerfeld and Bernard Arnault in Paris in 2005.
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In a statement upon Lagerfeld's death in 2019 posted to LVMH's website, Arnault said, "The death of this dear friend deeply saddens me, my wife and my children." He also said, "We loved and admired him deeply. Fashion and culture have lost a great inspiration."
Bernard Arnault met then President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City, right before Trump's inauguration in 2017, to discuss expanding LVMH factories in the US.
Bernard Arnault has said he and former president Trump have known each other since the 1980s.
Arnault told reporters at the ceremony that he was honored to have the then-president in attendance and noted that the two have known each other since the 1980s.
Former Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein once said Arnault's skill is in realizing the demand for high-end luxury products around the world.
Former Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein once called Arnault a "complete visionary."
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"I am so far from appreciating luxury items, let alone the demand for luxury items, but he was a complete visionary," Blankfein said of Arnault, according to CNBC.
But Arnault also has a longstanding public rivalry with François Pinault, the founder of luxury group Kering, who's worth about $30 billion.
Arnault's rival, François Pinault, founder of luxury group Kering.
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Kering owns brands including Gucci and Yves St. Laurent, and the billionaire also owns Christie's auction house, according to Bloomberg. LVMH originally tried to acquire a majority stake in Gucci in 1999, but Pinault ultimately snatched up the brand, according to Forbes.
Over the years, Arnault has built LVMH into the largest luxury conglomerate in the world and earned himself an imposing nickname: "the wolf in the cashmere coat."
Arnault's nickname is "the wolf in the cashmere coat."
Reuters
And he's confident in the luxury empire he's built, once telling the late Steve Jobs that demand for luxury goods like champagne may even outlast the almost $3 trillion dollar tech brand.
He previously told The New York Times, "Steve Jobs once asked me for some advice about retail, but I said, 'I am not sure at all we are in the same business.' I don't know if we will still use Apple products in 25 years, but I am sure we will still be drinking Dom Pérignon."
He's behind the creation of Foundation Louis Vuitton.
Arnault and Mercier at Foundation Louis Vuitton.
REUTERS/Alain Jocard/Pool
The Frank Gehry-designed contemporary art museum and performance space in Paris opened in 2014, according to The New York Times.
In April 2019, LVMH released a statement on behalf of the Arnault family, pledging 200 million euros, or about $226 million at the time, to help rebuild the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was heavily damaged in a 2019 fire.
Smoke billows as fire engulfs the spire of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, in April 2019.
Then, the coronavirus pandemic hit, and pandemic-related shutdowns sank LVMH's stock, sending Arnault's personal net worth down more than $30 billion by May 2020, according to Bloomberg.
As the world opened up again, though, LVMH's stock recovered, thanks to strong sales in fashion and leather goods and an uptick in alcohol sales, particularly champagne.
At the tail end of 2022, Arnault dethroned Elon Musk to claim the top spot as the richest man in the world.
Arnault, Bezos, and Musk regularly compete with each other for the title of world's richest person.
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In April 2023, his net worth even surpassed the $200 billion mark, making him the third person ever, behind Musk and Jeff Bezos, to do so.
He's currently the world's third-richest person. He, Bezos, and Musk have traded places on and off over the past year.
In April 2023, LVMH's headquarters in Paris were briefly stormed by protesters who were opposed to the French government's proposal to raise the country's retirement age from 62 to 64.
Protestors entering LVMH headquarters on the Rue Montaigne in Paris.
Arnault reportedly meets with his five children for a monthly lunch in the private dining room at LVMH to instruct them on the company's strategy and manager performance.
From left: Alexandre Arnault, Antoine Arnault, Delphine Arnault, and Bernard Arnault.
Vianney Le Caer/AP
He also occasionally sees them for his weekend store walk-throughs.
Every Saturday, he visits some of his stores to check that everything is up to par; when things aren't, he "reels off texts and emails to his senior executives describing any perceived deficiencies in bullet points of obsessive detail," according to a Bloomberg profile of Arnault in June 2024.
Arnault has been pretty vague about who will eventually take the reins of the company.
Arnault with his daughter Delphine and son Alexandre.
Bertrand Rindoff Petroff / Contributor
"The best person inside the family or outside the family should be one day my successor," he's previously said. "But it's not something that I hope is a duel for the near future."
And much like the HBO series "Succession," there has been considerable speculation about which of Arnault's children will eventually take over the LVMH empire. Arnault, however, said he's taught his kids to prize the company over personal disagreements from a young age. "For now, they all get on great," he previously said.
He's also brushed off the comparisons to a Succession-style battle between his children for control of LVMH. The New York Times reported that "he hates this talk, and takes pains to play down parallels to the show."
"As for the future, I have five members of the family working in the group," he told Bloomberg in June. "Let's see if one of them has the capacity to take over."
