Jakarta –
Bernard Arnault, the owner of luxury goods brand Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) is officially the richest person in the world. He became the first European to top Bloomberg’s list of richest people.
Arnault moved the position of Tesla boss Elon Musk, who is now down to second place. This man’s wealth from France is around 171 billion dollars or Rp. 2.667 trillion (exchange rate of Rp. 15.600).
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s wealth is now 164 billion US dollars or Rp 2.558 trillion. Arnault reversed Elon Musk’s position last week.
Launched by CNN, on Friday (12/16/2022), Elon Musk’s wealth decreased by $107 billion over the course of 2022. The decision to buy Twitter doesn’t appear to have helped Elon Musk increase his wealth.
Even so, Elon Musk remains richer than Indian tycoon Gautam Adani ($125 billion) and Amazon chief Jeff Bezos ($116 billion) according to Bloomberg’s wealth index.
Tesla shares are down 54% this year. Meanwhile, LVMH shares tend to be stable. This well-known brand has strong sales prospects in the United States (US) and Europe).
Luxury brands are relatively more stable in 2022. Even if inflation rises, causing purchasing power to weaken, luxury goods will continue to be purchased. LVMH is currently valued at approximately $386 billion.
Born in Roubaix in northern France in 1949, Bernard Arnault graduated from the prestigious technical school of Paris, École Polytechnique. He began his career at the family-owned construction company, Ferret-Savinel, of which he became president in 1978 after successive promotions.
Six years later, he received word that the French government was looking for new investors to take over Boussac Saint-Freres. The bankrupt textile group owns the main asset of Christian Dior, namely the famous French fashion house.
Arnault bought it, returned it to profitability and embarked on a strategy to develop the world’s leading luxury goods company.
“In the process, he relaunched Christian Dior as the cornerstone of the new organization,” according to a biography on the LVMH website.
Arnault bought a controlling stake in LVMH in 1989, two years after the group was formed from the merger of Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy. Since then he has been president and CEO of the company.
While the name itself may not be instantly recognizable to many, the brands Arnault developed, from Christian Dior to Dom Pérignon, are well known to the public.
Over the past thirty years, Arnault has transformed LVMH into a powerhouse of luxury goods with 75 labels. It sells wine, spirits, fashion, leather goods, perfumes, cosmetics, watches, jewelry, luxury travel and hotel stays.
It opened China’s first Louis Vuitton store in Beijing in 1992. In January 2021, the group completed a $15.8 billion acquisition of iconic U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co, making it the industry’s largest-ever acquisition of luxury.
Arnault’s philanthropic efforts are primarily through LVMH, which focuses its advocacy on the arts and culture. In 2019, the group donated 200 million euros ($212 million) to rebuild Notre Dame after a fire.
Arnault has long held the title of Europe’s richest man, but the 73-year-old has a much lower profile than Musk and isn’t personally active on any major social media platform.
In October, he told LVMH’s Radio Classique that he sold his private jet because he was ashamed on Twitter of being followed so much. Bernard Arnault married and has five children, all currently working at LVMH or other brands.
(La la)
