[News Figures] "The Wolf Draped in Cashmere"... World's Richest Person Arnault, Chairman of LVMH

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Bernard Arnault, chairman of the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH) (73), has surpassed Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, to become the world's richest person. He currently oversees more than 70 luxury brands including Dior and Fendi, dominating the global fashion industry. What is the secret behind Chairman Arnault's ability to lead such a massive luxury group?

Arnault Rises to World's Richest Person...Net Worth Estimated at 226 Trillion KRW

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on the 15th (local time), Arnault's asset value is $172 billion (approximately 226 trillion KRW). He has comfortably outpaced Musk, who holds $161 billion (about 211 trillion KRW), maintaining the top spot. Arnault is the fifth person to top the index since its inception in 2012 and the first European to do so.

Previously, Arnault also surpassed Musk in Forbes' real-time billionaire rankings. The shift in rankings is attributed to the contrasting stock price movements of their respective companies. Tesla's stock price has plummeted by 54% just this year. In contrast, LVMH's stock price has shown steady performance amid ongoing luxury consumption trends in the US and Europe.

Photo by Bloomberg, screenshot of the billionaire index screen.

Although he has reached the position of the world's richest person, Arnault is not as famous as Musk. Unlike Musk, who frequently makes headlines for various eccentric behaviors, Arnault has refrained from public activities and social media.

Arnault's title as the "world's richest person" is expected to hold for the time being. Tesla is struggling due to recent 'owner risk' concerns. Twitter, which Musk acquired for $44 billion (about 58 trillion KRW) last October, is also underperforming. With expectations that the US Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening will continue, technology stocks are likely to remain weak.

Transforming into a Luxury Businessman by Acquiring 'Christian Dior' Amid Management Difficulties

Arnault was born in March 1949 in Roubaix, a city in northern France. Originally, he was far from the luxury industry. After graduating from ?cole Polytechnique, France's top engineering school, in 1971, he joined Feret-Avinel, a construction company run by his father, to build his career. In 1979, succeeding his father as chairman, he renamed the company to Ferinel. When the French government shifted to the Socialist Party in 1981, he decided to move to the United States, citing ideological differences.

His fate changed with the acquisition of Christian Dior in 1985. At that time, the French government was seeking a buyer for Boussac, Dior's parent company, which was facing bankruptcy. He gathered funds to acquire Boussac, marking his official entry into the luxury industry.

In a past media interview, Arnault recalled that one day in the 1980s in New York, a taxi driver told him, "I may not know the name of President de Gaulle, but I know Dior," which made him realize the potential of the luxury business. Starting with the Boussac acquisition, he fully entered the luxury market.

"The Terminator" and "The Wolf in a Cashmere Coat"...A Master of M&A

Upon becoming the manager of Boussac, he immediately undertook bold restructuring. Arnault earned the nickname "Terminator" after laying off about 9,000 employees. He also eliminated businesses that did not fit the luxury profile, such as the diaper business. Ultimately, he retained only Christian Dior and Le Bon March?, the world's first department store, selling off all other businesses. After turning the company profitable in 1987, he developed Christian Dior into a global luxury brand.

The Boussac acquisition marked the beginning of his aggressive mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In 1989, Arnault acquired a 24% stake in Louis Vuitton for $1.8 billion and subsequently purchased Givenchy, Kenzo, TAG Heuer, Fendi, and others. At the time, he was nicknamed "the wolf in a cashmere coat."

In 2021, he successfully acquired the American jewelry company Tiffany for $15.8 billion (about 20.68 trillion KRW), marking the largest M&A in the luxury brand industry. The New York Times once described Arnault as someone who "early on recognized the opportunity to acquire family-run artisan companies, specialize them, and leverage their strengths." LVMH currently manages over 70 brands across fashion, watches, jewelry, wine, spirits, retail, beauty, and hotels.

As befits the world's richest person, he maintains close ties with political and business circles. He is known to be a friend of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and served as a witness at Sarkozy's 2008 wedding to Carla Bruni. He is also reportedly close to current French President Emmanuel Macron.

He also has a friendship with former US President Donald Trump, whom he met while living in New York in the 1980s. When Trump was elected in 2017, Arnault was invited to Trump Tower.

Meanwhile, Arnault lives with his second wife, pianist H?l?ne Mercier, and has five children. Notably, he received praise for donating 200 million euros to the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was damaged by fire in 2019.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.