Bernard Arnault is one of the most visible billionaires. He returned to the news earlier this year after being denied a request for Belgian citizenship.
The French billionaire, the richest man in the Hexagon, decided to renounce his citizenship after Francois Hollande, the French president, announced that he would tax by 75% income over a million euros.
Arnault has a fortune estimated at $30.5 billion, mainly derived from the business of luxury. He is the main shareholder of Christian Dior group, which controls LVMH, the most important player in the luxury industry. Arnault is an indirect shareholder in Carrefour, one of the largest retailers in the world. It took Arnault four decades to reach the world’s top of billionaires.
Born into a family of industrialists – his father owned a civil engineering company – Arnault graduated in 1971 from Ecole Polytechnique, one of the most prestigious universities in France. After he finished his studies he was employed as an engineer for Ferret-Savinel, his father’s company. Seven years he came to lead the company as President.
In 1981, when Francois Mitterand was elected President of France, Arnault went to the United States where for three years has been involved in the development of the apartments for his father’s company. He later returned to France and took over Boussac, a textile company that was experiencing a difficult time. Boussac owned Christian Dior and several other divisions. From that moment Arnault started to raise a business empire in luxury. In 1988 Christian Dior took over 32% of LVMH, and this was just the beginning. In the next years Arnault’s empire has developed both organically and through a series of acquisitions. Today, LVMH is the leader of luxury, with activities in areas ranging from fashion and cosmetics to watch making and luxury beverages.
Bernard Arnault, 64 years old:
– Wealth (Bloomberg Billionaires Index): $30.5 billion.
– Fortune source: group LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Veuve Clicquot, Moet et Chardon, Fendi, Celine, Marc Jacobs, Tag Heur)
– Carrefour shareholders: Blue Capital (Bernard Arnault – indirectly 9.43%), Colony Blue Investor (2.23%), Groupe Arnault SAS (0.76%), Public (81.81%), employees (1.22%).
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