Bernard Jean Etienne Arnault is a French business magnate, investor, and art collector.
28 Facts About Bernard Arnault
2.
Bernard Arnault is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury goods company.
3.
Bernard Jean Etienne Arnault was born on 5 March 1949 in Roubaix.
4.
Bernard Arnault was educated at the Lycee Maxence Van Der Meersch in Roubaix, and the Lycee Faidherbe in Lille.
5.
Bernard Arnault began his career in 1971, at Ferret-Savinel, and was its president from 1978 to 1984.
6.
Bernard Arnault became the CEO of Financiere Agache and subsequently won the bidding war for Boussac Saint-Freres, buying the group for a ceremonial one franc and effectively took control of Boussac Saint-Freres.
7.
Bernard Arnault worked with Alain Chevalier, CEO of Moet Hennessy, and Henry Racamier, president of Louis Vuitton, to form LVMH in 1987.
8.
The fault became too large to ignore when Bernard Arnault had a differing strategic vision from Henry Racamier, Louis Vuitton's president.
9.
Bernard Arnault then turned on Racamier, stripped him of his power, and ousted him from the board of directors.
10.
LVMH acquired Berluti and Kenzo in 1993, the same year Bernard Arnault bought out the French economic newspaper La Tribune.
11.
In 1996, Bernard Arnault bought out Loewe, followed by Marc Jacobs and Sephora in 1997.
12.
Bernard Arnault chose Christian de Portzamparc to supervise this project.
13.
That same year, Bernard Arnault turned his eyes on Gucci, an Italian leather goods company, which was run by Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole.
14.
Bernard Arnault discreetly amassed a 5 percent stake in the company before being detected.
15.
De Sole proposed that in return for board representation, Bernard Arnault would stop increasing his stake in Gucci.
16.
In 1998, with businessman Albert Frere, Bernard Arnault purchased Chateau Cheval Blanc in a personal capacity.
17.
From 1998 to 2001, Bernard Arnault invested in a variety of web companies such as Boo.
18.
Bernard Arnault subsequently took control of Royal van Lent for an almost identical amount.
19.
From 2010 until 2013, Bernard Arnault was a member of the Board of Advisors of the Malaysian 1MDB fund.
20.
Bernard Arnault has promoted decisions towards decentralizing the group's brands as a business strategy.
21.
Bernard Arnault's collection includes work by Picasso, Yves Klein, Henry Moore, and Andy Warhol.
22.
Bernard Arnault was instrumental in establishing LVMH as a significant patron of art in France.
23.
In 2006, Bernard Arnault started the building project of the Louis Vuitton Foundation.
24.
In July 2019, Bernard Arnault became the second-richest man in the world, with a net worth of $103 billion.
25.
Bernard Arnault briefly surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the richest person in the world in December 2019, and again for a short time in January 2020.
26.
In 2013, it was disclosed that Bernard Arnault planned to apply for Belgian citizenship and was considering moving to Belgium.
27.
On 10 April 2013, Bernard Arnault announced he had decided to abandon his application for Belgian citizenship, saying he did not want the move to be misinterpreted as a measure of tax evasion, at a time when France faced economic and social challenges.
28.
In October 2022 Bernard Arnault stated that LVMH sold its private jet after a Twitter user began to track its flights and stated he began renting private aircraft for his personal and business flights instead.