DIVING DEEP INTO THE BIOGRAPHY OF BERNARD ARNAULT

We all have seen the fantabulous products of LVMH, the world's leading fashion group, prominently known for its luxury goods & we might have also heard that the company struck the revenue of 79.2 Billion Euros in 2022.

However, we are not aware with the endeavor of Bernard Arnault, who under his ambitious planning, intensified the growth of this corporation.

Today, we will have deep insights of the life of Bernard Arnault, who due to his tireless hard-work was able to achieve sky rocketing success.

EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION:

Bernard Arnault was born on 5th March 1949 in Roubaix, France. His mother was a pianist & father was the owner of Ferret Savinel, a Civil Engineering Company. He completed his initial education from Lycee Faidherbe & moving further he pursued his engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique, one of the leading engineering institutions of France.

STEPPING INTO THE CAREER:

After graduating in 1971, Bernard Arnault worked in his father's company, Ferret Savinel, & from 1978 till 1984, he held the operations of the company as its President. 

PROGRESSING TO BOUSSAC SAINT FRERES:

In 1984, he heard that French Government is searching someone to acquire Boussac Saint Freres Empire. By the assistance of Lazard's Freres Senior Partner, Antoine Bernheim, Bernard was able to take over Financiere Agache & he accomplished to held the acquistion of Boussac Saint Freres. After acquiring the empire, he sold all assets of Boussac Saint Freres except for Christian Dior & Le Bon Marche. Initially, the company suffered, however by 1987 it was profitable again.

A GIANT STEP TOWARDS LVMH:

In 1988, Bernard bought 24% Equity of LVMH for the value of $1.6 Billion & further increased the shares by 13.5% for $600 Million. This bold move of Bernard, made him the largest stakeholder of the company. By 1989, he again took a very signature step by gaining total control over 43.5% Stakes along with 35% Voting Rights for $500 Million. Due to the rising issues, he ousted Henry Racamier from Board of Directors to avoid dismantlement. On 13th January 1989, Bernard was elected as the Chairman of Executive Management Board. 

THUNDERING GROWTH:

Bernard Arnault thundered the growth of LVMH through his commendable plans. In 11 years, annual sales & profits augmented by the factor of 5, as well as the market value rose by the factor of 15. 

In 1993, he acquired Berluti & Kenzo, as well as bought LaTribune, which was sold to LesEchos for 240 Million Euros due to fruitless results. Moving further, Bernard continuously kept on expanding his empire by purchasing Guerlain, Loewe, Marc Jacobs, Sephora, Thomas Pink, Fendi, DKNY, La Samaritaine, & Emilio Pucci.

In 1999, LVMH tower was built in New York City under the supervision of Christian De Portzamparc.

Bernard accumulated 5% Stakes of Gucci & upon being noticed, he rose them to 34.4%. To confine him from adding up the shares, he was proposed for Board Representation, which he denied. As a consequence of this, the matter was dragged into legal ruling & it eventually sorted out when LVMH sold all the shares of Gucci as per the profit of $700 Million.

Till here, Bernard was not limited, instead he widened his company by taking over Chateau Cheval Blanc through the assistance of Albert Frere & he also held the acquistion of Chateau d Yquem.

Besides this, he even invested in web companies like, Boo.com, Liberty surf, Netflix, & etc.

In 2007, Blue Capital announced that Bernard jointly owned Carrefour too.

In 2008, Arnault once again took a very daring step, by entering into the Yacht Business. He bought Princess Yacht for 253 Million Euros, as well as bought Royal Van Lent.

In addition to these experiences, he also served 1MDB Fund as its member of Board of Advisors from 2010 till 2013.

Arnault invested in 50.4% shares of Bulgari for $5.2 Billion, further he also invested $641 Million to establish L Capital Asia.

Plus, he involved in the joint venture with Marco De Vincenzo by attaining 45% stakes.

In 2016, DKNY was sold to G-III Apparel Group & in 2017, Christian Dior Haute Couture was purchased.

By the end of 2017, sales recorded boosted up to 42.6 Billion Euros, which marks 13% increase as compare to the previous year

Last but not the least, after great tensions, finally he purchased Tiffany at slightly reduced price of $16 Billion.

The list of activities clearly displays, that Bernard popped out this venture with a great determination, as a result of which LVMH became the largest company in Euro Zone with respect to market capitalization.

BEING THE RICHEST ACROSS THE GLOBE:

In 1999, after tireless hard-work, Bernard finally turned out to be the richest person in fashion surpassing Amancio Ortega of Zara. Additionally, in 2019, 2020 & 2021, he was enlisted as the richest individual of the world for a short span of time. Luckily, from April 2023 to May 2023, he was again nominated as the richest individual.