Richest luxury goods maker
- Who
- Bernard Arnault
- What
- 72,000,000,000 US dollar(s)
- Where
- France
- When
- 06 March 2018
The richest luxury goods maker is Bernard Arnault (FRA), CEO and owner of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, whose personal fortune is $72 billion (£52.1 billion) according to estimates published by Forbes on 6 March 2018.
Arnault’s first major acquisition was the fashion house Christian Dior, which he purchased for a token price of one Franc in 1984 after its parent company filed for bankruptcy. In 1989 he acquired a controlling stake in the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which he has led as chairman and CEO ever since. Under his leadership, LVMH has aggressively expanded into new markets, particularly China and the former Soviet Union.
LVMH owns numerous globally-recognised brands that produce a wide variety of luxury goods including champagne (Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon), watches (TAG Heuer, Hublot), and fashion (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Marc Jacobs).