Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world. Last week, the CEO of Space X and Tesla was replaced by fashion mogul Bernard Arnault. Bernard is known as a French businessman and art collector, managing director of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH). Previously, many people did not know the figure behind expensive brands, from Louis Vouitton to Dior.
According to Forbes, Bernard Arnault, who leads about 70 fashion and cosmetics brands, is worth $186.5 billion. Meanwhile, Elon Musk, who ranks second, has a total wealth of $181.3 billion. Other entrepreneurs who make the list of the five richest people in the world are Gautam Adani, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffet.
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Bernard Arnault came from an elite industrial family in France. After graduating from college in 1971, he started working as an engineer at his father’s firm, Ferret-Savial, which was a construction company. Bernard managed to develop the family business to become president seven years later until he took over the Boussac Saint-Frères company which also oversees Christian Dior. He then sold almost all of Boussac’s assets, leaving only Dior and the Le Bon Marché department store.
In 1989, Bernard Arnault became the largest shareholder of LVMH, a group of luxury lifestyle products. LVMH itself has acquired many well-known brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Dior Sephora, Tiffany & Co, Fendi, Bvlgari, Celine, Guerlin, Givency, Rimowa, Marc Jacobs, Fenty Beuaty, Birkenstock, Y, Kenzo, Loewe, DKNY, Beneficio, etc.
The man who holds the titles of Grand Officier de la Légion d’Honneur and Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres also inherited his company as a family business. The 79-year-old man is said to have already decided which of his five sons will take over at LVMH.
Even though his position is already very high and despite being the richest man, Bernard Arnault is still said to be directly involved in the development of the business. Every Saturday he visits nearly 25 stores, both his own and those of his competitors. Reported by the India Times, he often gives advice to staff, including on the placement of products in stores.
Bernard Arnault is expected to remain chairman of LVMH until he is 80, after age limit rules for chief executives are lifted in France. One of his strategies that has attracted recent attention was when LVMH sold its private planes after they were frequently monitored because their use was deemed not environmentally friendly. “By all the stories, our group had a plane and we sold it. As a result now nobody can see where I’m going because I chartered a plane,” he said.
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