Bernard Arnault’s Net Worth
$190 Billion
What is Bernard Arnault’s Net Worth?
The world’s best Chief Executive of LVMH “Bernard Arnault” has a net worth of $190 Billion (14 Lakh Crore INR). According to various online resources (Wikipedia, Forbes, IMDB), the most popular Chief Executive of LVMH Bernard Arnault estimated a net worth of around $190 Billion, which in Indian Currency is 14 Lakh Crore Indian Rupee.
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 $190 billion dollars. His net worth makes him one of the richest people in the world behind people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
Key Facts
- Bernard Arnault takes great care of his health. Bernard Arnault eats food before 9 in the night.
- Bernard Arnault is very fond of playing volleyball and tennis.
- Bernard Arnault loves watching football.
- Bernard Arnault himself has said that his crush is Bernard Arnault whom he has loved since childhood.
- Does Bernard Arnault Smoke? Yes
- Does Bernard Arnault Drink Alcohol? Yes
Biography
Bernard Arnault was born in the northern French town of Roubaix in 1949. After graduating with an engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, he joined his family’s company and persuaded his father to exit its construction business and focus on real estate.
Arnault entered the luxury goods market in 1984 when he took over the bankrupt textile group that owned Christian Dior. He sold all of the company’s other businesses and used the proceeds to buy a controlling stake in LVMH. Other acquisitions include Fendi, TAG Heuer, and Bulgari. He sought and failed to buy auction house Sotheby’s and retailer Gucci, which he lost to rival billionaire Francois Pinault in 2010.
LVMH agreed to relinquish its 23 percent stake in Hermes to its shareholders in September 2014, ending a four-year battle to gain control of the luxury label. He remained its biggest individual shareholder until July 2017, when he sold most of his shares as part of a $13.2 billion deal to consolidate his control of Christian Dior.
The billionaire lives on Paris’s Left Bank with his second wife, concert pianist Helene Mercier. His art collection of modern and contemporary paintings includes pieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Maurizio Cattelan, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso.
Arnault sparked a debate over taxation in France in 2012 when Belgium’s government disclosed that he was seeking to become a Belgian citizen. Arnault said he intended to still pay taxes in France. His request was aimed at safeguarding a foundation he’d established in Belgium to “protect the financial interests and wealth” of his heirs. In April 2013, he withdrew his application as “a gesture of my attachment to France and my faith in its future.”
Bernard Arnault’s Productivity Habits and Personal Strengths
Bernard Arnault is a private person, and there isn’t much information on his lifestyle available. However, in an interview, Bernard says that he ensures he gets at least 7-hours of sleep every night to refresh his mind and reduce his stress. He says he designed his bedroom to create a space for sleep, enhancing the effects of his time between the sheets.
Career
Following his graduation in 1971, Arnault began working at his father’s company, Ferret-Savinel (which was previously owned by his maternal grandfather). He became the company’s president in 1978 and continued in that position until 1984. While with Ferret-Savinel, he helped steer the company away from construction and increasingly focused on real estate, which would turn out to be a successful business move. Then, in 1984, he acquired the luxury goods company Financiere Agache, with the help of Antoine Bernheim. He became CEO of Financiere Agache, and then also took over the textile company Boussac Saint-Freres. Boussac owned many brands and stores, including the luxury brand Christian Dior and the department store Le Bon Marche, and Arnault sold all the Boussac assets except those two.
In 1987 LVMH, a collective of luxury companies that includes Christian Dior was started, and Arnault found himself more successful than ever thanks to his shrewd business sense. The conglomerate was originally formed when the luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton merged with Moët Henessy in 1987. In July 1988, he contributed $1.5 billion and formed a holding company with Guinness to capture 24% of LVMH’s shares. Rumors began circulating that the Louis Vuitton group was going to try to buy up LVMH stock to form a “blocking minority”, so to preemptively counter them Arnault spent another $600 million on 13.5% of LVMH shares. This move made him the largest LVMH shareholder. He wasn’t done though, and in January 1989 he spent even more money, this time $500 million, to buy more shares. By then, he controlled a total of 43.5% of LVMH’s shares, as well as 35% of its voting rights. Using his control, he blocked the dismantlement of the LVMH group and has since led the conglomerate through a transformation that has positioned it as one of the largest leading luxury groups around the world.
He was made a Commander of the French Legion of Honour in 2007 and Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour in 2011.
Awards & Achievements
In 2011, he was presented with the Corporate Citizenship award from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Marriage
He got married to Ann Devavrin in 1973. But in 1990, they split up. He then married pianist Helen Mercier in 1991.
Education
Bernard Arnault attended the top engineering school in France, the École Polytechnique, graduating in 1971.
Bernard Arnault Wealth Details
Arnault made most of his fortune from Christian Dior, in which his family holds a 73 percent stake in. Christian Dior is a 41 percent owner in the world’s largest luxury goods company, LVMH, in which the Arnault family owns a 5.7 percent direct stake in. He also owns 8.4 percent of Hermes and shares in Carrefour. In 2009 he sold his stake in the winery Cheval Blanc to LVMH for 238 million euros. LVMH had a revenue of $41.6 billion in 2016. In June of 2019, Bernard Arnault’s net worth topped $100 billion for the first time. At that point, he was the third-richest person on the planet. In July 2019, his net worth topped $108 billion which placed him as the second-richest person on the planet, roughly $400 million ahead of Bill Gates. From January to December 2019, Bernard Arnault’s net worth increased by $36 billion.