In this success story post, we are going to share the Bernard Arnault biography, who has been serving as the CEO of the Louis Vuitton conglomerate since 1989. Being the principal shareholder in the fashion company, he become the wealthiest man in France and is among the richest man in the world.
Bernard Arnault Childhood & Early Life
He was born as Bernard Jean Etienne Arnault on the 5th of March 1949 in Roubaix, France as the son of Jean Leon Arnault. His father was a manufacturer who owned a civil engineering company, Ferret-Savinel.
He attended Maxence Van Der Meersch High School in Roubaix. After completing his schooling, he entered the Prestigious Ecole Polythenique and graduated with a degree in engineering in 1971.
Bernard Arnault Career
Bernard became involved in his father’s business after graduating from college, and he planned for the company to expand its horizons and become involved in other more profitable businesses.
His first action within the company was to convince his father to disband the construction division and reap the benefits. After the construction was dissolved, the family began investing in real estate and became quite successful in doing so.
Bernard was quickly moving up the ranks in the company and was the director of development in the year 1974, CEO in 1977, and surpassed his father by becoming president in 1979.
In the year 1981, the French Socialists forced the family to relocate to America, and even there, they continued to flourish by branch out their real estate to the US.
Arnault returned to France in the year 1983 and saw a golden opportunity to expand into the textile industry when the firm Boussac Saint-Freres was bankrupt. He co-operated with Antonie Bernheim, a managing partner who worked for an investment firm called Lazard Freres to fund his purchase of Boussac.
Upon receiving the company, Arnault sold most of the shares and kept only the Christian Dior brand and the department store Le Bon Marche. By 1985 he was the CEO of Dior.
In the year 1987, Arnault was invited to invest in the LVMH company and eventually chose to invest in a joint share with the Guinness PLC.
Throughout the next few years, he would continue to invest and gain more of the company. By the year 1989, he had control of 43.5% of the company shares and began to immediately replace the old average employees and replace them with new ones who would exceed his expectations.
On a mission to work and grow new businesses, he continued to acquire a few other companies, including the ‘Marc Jacobs’, ‘Sephora’, and ‘Guerlain’ and few others.
As of 2020, Bernard Arnault’s net worth is $70 billion.
Bernard Arnault Philanthropic Works
Bernard Arnault’s company LMVH is engaged in a number of philanthropic activities. It supports humanitarian, medical research and scientific organizations, such as Save the Children, the Foundation for Hospitals in Paris, and the Princess Grace of Monaco Foundation.
