The past year has been interesting for the businesses of the richest people in the world. Jeff Bezos was dethroned from his position as the richest man in the world by the European Bernard Arnault, who is president and CEO of the French luxury goods manufacturer LVMH.
Climbing Arno to first place, albeit briefly, shows how huge his LVMH empire really is. The conglomerate offers goods in as many as 75 product categories, such as clothing and leather goods, watches and jewelry, perfumes and cosmetics, wines and spirits and many others.
The company has 5,000 stores. The most famous brands for fashion and jewelry are Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Bulgari and Tiffany’s. LVMH also owns Tag Heuer, the champagne brands Moet & Chandon and Dom Perignon and Chateau d ‘Yquem.
Forbes recently estimated Arno’s fortune at $ 195 billion. It comes mainly from his share of LVMH. The family holding company Arnault Family Group owns approximately 47% of the shares of LVMH and 60% of the voting shares.
But it wasn’t just his stocks or his great business acumen that made Arnault the richest man in the world. This is due to the huge increase in demand for luxury goods among the world’s richest consumers.
This year, LVMH is expected to generate revenues of over 62 billion euros, which will be 38% more than last year’s disappointing results and as much as 15% above pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The company’s shares rose nearly 40 % in the last 12 months – up to 712 euros.
How did Arno build his empire?
Arno, 72, was born into a family of industrial workers in Roubaix, France. He studied at the leading engineering school in France Cole Polytechnique. He joined the Family Construction Company in 1971 and helped develop the real estate business. In 1984, with several financial assistants, he bought a troubled holding company with assets in textiles and retail. In 1987, Louis Vuitton merged with Moët Hennessy. The following year, Arno bought a stake in the company, and in 1989 became its majority shareholder, chairman and CEO.
The richest European once again overtook Bezos as the richest man in the world
He ended the week with $ 500 million more
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In the following decades, they achieved their goal of building a world-leading luxury conglomerate. “One of the things that makes our company exceptional is the way executives think about brands, namely that they have to be eternal.”
LVMH relies on celebrities in its marketing campaigns to attract young customers. Arno is also known to promote domestic competition among its brands.
The arrival of Kovid-19 could be disastrous for a company that sells designer bags, Swiss watches and some of the most expensive drinks in the world. Instead, the pandemic was welcome for the business of LVMH and other high-end luxury and luxury goods companies, such as Tesla and Lamborghini. How it happened – spending opportunities shrank, the bills of the rich grew and they spent more on luxury goods.
World wealth has grown by 8.3% to a record $ 250 trillion in 2020, according to the BCG Global Wealth Report for 2021,
The Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report also measures the total wealth of households, which rose 7.4 percent last year to $ 418.3 trillion.
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