Bernard Arnault Net Worth 2023: Bernard Arnault is a famous businessman with a net worth is US$182.8 us dollars. Find more about his companies, net worth, biography, age, height, wife, family, and investments.
| Net Worth: | $182.8 Billion |
| Date of Birth: | Mar 5, 1949 (73 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Roubaix |
| Gender: | Male |
| Profession: | Businessperson, Business magnate |
| Nationality: | France |
What is the total net worth of Bernard Arnault ?
LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company, is run by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, who also serves as its chairman and chief executive officer. Arnault amassed his fortune as the company’s leader. As of the time this article was written, Bernard Arnault has a net worth of $182.8 billion dollars. Because of Bernard’s enormous net worth, he has been one of the wealthiest persons on the planet for the better part of his adult life, placing him among the ranks of individuals such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates. In December 13, 2022, Bernard Arnault surpassed Elon Musk to take the title of wealthiest individual on the entire planet.
Bernard Arnault Financial
Bernard Arnault amassed his fortune during his tenure as CEO of LVMH. In the 1980s, Arnault saved Christian Dior from bankruptcy by purchasing the company. After that, he utilized the money from the profits of Dior as well as the increased valuation of the company to establish a conglomerate of luxury brands. Some of these brands include Louis Vuitton, Moet, and Hennessy (hence the name “LVMH”), Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Tag Heuer, Bulgari, and Tiffany & Co. Today, LVMH is the owner of over 60 different brands and produces income of $70 billion each year. As of the time this article was written, LVMH has a market cap of $384 billion.
The direct ownership of 97% of Dior is still held by Bernard and the extended Arnault family, while Dior holds a 41% stake in LVMH. In addition, the family owns an extra 7% of LVMH on its own, independently. They have more than half of the overall voting rights in the group.
Outside of LVMH, Bernard individually owns two vineyards in France, Princess Yachts, 5% of Carrefour, which is the largest supermarket chain in France, and a multi-billion dollar art collection that includes works by Picasso and Warhol.
The net worth of Bernard Arnault’s assets passed the $100 billion mark for the first time in June of 2019. When we last checked, he was the third richest person on the entire planet. As of the month of July 2019, his net worth had surpassed $108 billion, making him the second-richest person on the planet and around $400 million more wealthy than Bill Gates. In December of 2022, he beat Elon Musk to become the richest person on the planet when his net worth of $171 billion surpassed Musk’s net worth of $168 billion.
Bernard Arnault : A Brief History
Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault was born on March 5th, 1949 in the city of Roubaix, which is located in France. His father, Jean Léon Arnault, was a manufacturer and a graduate of École Centrale Paris. He was a member of the Arnault family. His father, Étienne Savinel, was the proprietor of the civil engineering company Ferret-Savinel, and his mother, Marie-Josèphe Savinel, was his daughter. In 1950, Savinel handed over the operation of Ferret-Savinel to his son-in-law Jean Léon Arnault (Bernard’s father), and he eventually gave him ownership of the company as well. Bernard Arnault is Savinel’s grandson. In 1971, Bernard earned his degree in engineering from the École Polytechnique, considered to be the best engineering institution in all of France.
Bernard Arnault Family Business
After receiving his diploma in 1971, Arnault immediately started working for Ferret-Savinel, the company that belonged to his father (which was previously owned by his maternal grandfather). In 1978, he was elected to the position of company president, which he continued continuously until 1984. During his time at Ferret-Savinel, he was instrumental in shifting the company’s focus away from construction and into real estate, which would prove to be a fruitful strategic decision for the company.
Bernard Arnault Luxury Goods
With the assistance of Antoine Bernheim, Bernard was able to purchase the luxury goods company Financiere Agache in the year 1984. After becoming the CEO of Financiere Agache, he also purchased the bankrupt textile company Boussac Saint-Freres and brought it back to profitability. Boussac was the owner of a large number of brands and stores, including the high-end luxury label Christian Dior as well as the department store Le Bon Marche. Except for Dior and Le Bon Marche, Arnault was able to sell all of the Boussac assets.
Even now, Bernard and his family continue to directly own 97% of Dior.
Bernard Arnault LVMH
Bernard went on a spending binge for luxury brands thanks to the rising value and profits of Dior. In 1987, Bernard founded LVMH, a holding company that would later become the owner of the merging luxury fashion businesses Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy. During the month of July in 1988, he made a contribution of $1.5 billion and formed a holding company with Guinness in order to acquire 24% of LVMH’s shares. After hearing rumors that the Louis Vuitton group was going to try to buy up LVMH stock in order to establish a “blocking minority,” Arnault spent an additional $600 million to purchase 13.5% of LVMH shares in order to preemptively fight these rumors. As a result of this move, he became LVMH’s largest stakeholder. But that wasn’t the end of it for him; in January 1989, he shelled out even more cash—this time, $500 million—to buy additional shares. At that point, he had accumulated a total of 43.5% of LVMH’s shares and owned 35% of the company’s voting rights. Through the use of his power, he was able to prevent the dismantling of the LVMH group. Since then, he has led the conglomerate through a transformation that has positioned it as one of the largest and most successful luxury organizations worldwide.
Under Arnault, LVMH saw significant growth. Not only did sales and profits increase by a factor of five over the course of eleven years, but the market value of the company also increased by a factor of fifteen. Arnault has continued to advocate an approach that decentralizes the brands, which helps them to be recognized as autonomous brands and firms with their own histories and tales. This is in spite of the fact that the conglomerate has a vast number of brands (a total of 75 as of June 2020). Céline, which was acquired in 1988, Berluti, which was acquired in 1993, Kenzo, which was acquired in 1993, Guerlain, which was acquired in 1994, Loewe, which was acquired in 1996, Marc Jacobs, which was acquired in 1997, Sephora, which was acquired in 1997, Thomas Pink, which was acquired in 1999, Emilio Pucci, which was acquired in 2000, and Fendi (in 2001).
Bernard Arnault Other Investment
Arnault is involved in a diverse range of businesses in addition to LVMH’s operations. Through his holding company Europatweb, he invested investments in a number of web startups between the years 1998 and 2001. These investments included Boo.com, Libertysurg, and Zebank. In 1999, he invested an investment in Netflix through the company Groupe Arnault, which is an investing organization. In 2007, it was revealed that Arnault, in conjunction with the property firm Colony Capital from the state of California, owned 10.69% of Carrefour. Carrefour is the name of the world’s second-largest food distributor as well as the most successful supermarket chain in France. In addition to that, he is now involved in the charter yacht industry. During the year 2008, he shelled out a total of 253 million Euros to buy Princess Yachts. After that, he purchased Royal van Lent’s management for a sum of money that was almost identical to the first.
Bernard Arnault Artwork
Arnault is not only interested in business, however; for example, he is well recognized for his deep interest in art collecting. Arnault is not all business. Arnault has sponsored creative exhibitions in France under the auspices of LVMH, featuring internationally recognized artists such as Pablo Picasso, a pioneer of abstract painting, and Andy Warhol, a pioneer of pop art.
Bernard Arnault Personal Life
Arnault got married to Anne Dewavrin in 1973, and the couple divorced in 1990. They are parents to two children despite living apart. In 1990, he tied the knot with Hélène Mercier, a Canadian concert pianist. Together, they are the parents of three children. Following the tragic fire that occurred in 2019 at the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, Arnault and his family made a commitment to donate €200 million euros to assist with the repair and restoration operations being undertaken.
