Who is Bernard Arnault, world's richest person? 10 things to know
Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault has now taken over the world's richest person title after Elon Musk's Tesla shares fell sharply on Monday.
Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault has now taken over the world's richest person title after Elon Musk's Tesla shares fell sharply on Monday. According to Forbes, Arnault is worth $186.2 billion. In the past years, the French tycoon has remained in the top 10 of the world's richest list but his position was below Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Here are 10 things to know about the world's richest person Bernard Arnault:
1. Bernard Arnault is the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive of LVMH Moet Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, the world's largest luxury goods company.
2. Arnault and his family have an estimated net worth of US$ 188.6 billion as of December 2022, according to Forbes.
3. He has five children from two marriages - all of whom currently work at the LVMH firm or one of its brands. Arnault's second child Antoine recently got an expanded role at the holding company Christian Dior SE.
4. Born in Roubaix in the north of France in 1949, Bernard Arnault graduated from the elite engineering school École Polytechnique. He worked at the family business - Ferret Savinel - before moving to the US in 1981 where he ventured into property development.
5. In 1984, Arnault returned to France and took over Boussac Saint-Freres - the bankrupt textile group that owned Christian Dior. Later, he spun off most of the company’s other businesses and used the windfall to buy a controlling stake in LVMH - whose two main companies - Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy had merged, reported Bloomberg.
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6. Through the decades, Arnault turned LVMH into a luxury behemoth selling Champagne, wine, spirits, fashion, leather goods, watches, jewellery, hotel stays, perfume, and cosmetics through more than 5,500 stores worldwide.
7. Arnault is also an art collector - which led to the opening of the Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris’s Bois de Boulogne in 2014. The venue is a monumental private art museum designed by Frank Gehry. It houses LVMH’s corporate collection as well as Arnault’s.
8. The 73-year-old has long been a mainstay in wealth rankings, however, makes only rare public appearances and is not personally active on social media.
9. Earlier this year, LVMH lifted the age limit of its chief executive officer - allowing Arnault to stay at the helm until 80 - a sign that he intends to be in charge for longer.
10. According to Bloomberg’s wealth index estimates, the vast majority of Arnault’s fortune stems from his 97.5% stake in Christian Dior, which, in turn, controls about 41% of LVMH. The family holds an additional LVMH stake of roughly 6%.
