Bernard Arnault Net Worth 2021: Family | House | Bio

He is a French businessman &  billionaire investor. Bernard Arnault is the chairman & chief executive of “LVMH” Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. It is a French multinational corporation specialised in luxury good &  the world’s largest luxury goods company based in Paris, France. According to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List on 24th May 2021, he becomes the second world’s wealthiest person behind Amazon’s Jeff Bezos & Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the third wealthiest person in the world.

Early Life

He was born on 5th March 1949 in Roubaix, a city in northern France. His father Jean Leon Arnault & mother Marie-Josèphe Savinel who makes her husband responsible for the management of his civil engineering company Ferret-Savinel in 1950.

He took his primary education in the Lycee Maxence Van Der Meersch in Roubaix & later on in the Lycee Faidherbe for his high school education. He becomes graduate from the “Ecole Polytechnique” which is France’s leading engineering school. After graduating in 1971 he started working for his father’s company.

Career

He started his career in 1971 working for Ferret-Savinel a construction company owned by his father. In July 1988 he invest  $ 1.5 billion (Rs 1,08,99.60 Cr) to form a company named Guinness that held 24% of LVMH’s shares. The company is an Iris Dark top-fermented beer company. He invests another $ 600 million (Rs 43,58.43 Cr) to buy 13.5% more of LVMH, making him LVMH’s largest shareholder. In January 1989 invest more than $ 500 million (Rs 36,32.28 Cr) to gain control of a total of 43.5% of LVMH’s shares and 35% of its voting rights. In the same month, he elected chairman of the executive management board.

After transforming his company into a world-class luxury group in 1988 he acquired another company Celine, a French ready to wear Leather luxury goods brand.1993 LVMH acquired leather goods manufacturer company Berluti, French luxury fashion house Kenzo &  invest € 240 million (Rs 21,25.83 Cr) for acquired  French economic newspaper Les Echos.

French perfume and skincare cosmetics company Guerlain take Over by  LVMH in 1994 & in 1996 it acquired a Spanish luxury fashion house, Loewe.

On 7th March 2011, he announced that he is buying 50.4% of family-owned shares of the Italian jeweller company “Bulgari” for $ 5.2 billion (Rs 3,77,60.58 Cr).In February 2014 he entered into the joint venture with the Italian fashion brand Marco De Vincenzo, taking a minority 45% stake in the company. In April 2017 he announced the acquisition of Christian Dior haute couture, leather, both men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, and footwear lines, which combined with the entire Christian Dior brand within LVMH.

In 2018 month of January led the company to record sales of € 42.6 billion (Rs 37,71,29.28 Cr) in 2017. That same year companies net profit increased to 29%.

Under his leadership, LVMH has grown to become the largest company by market capitalization in the European Union With a record of $ 382 billion (Rs 2,77,41,64.22 Cr). For a very short period on 24th May 2021, he becomes the richest man in the world, surpassing Jeff Bezos. 

In 2018 he becomes the richest person in the fashion industry Topping  Spanish Retailer Amancio Ortega Gaona. For a short period, he also topped  Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in December 2019. Again he repeats the same thing in January 2020 becoming once again the world the richest person topped Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos. During the covid-19 pandemic, his wealth falls down by 30 billion dollars as sales of luxury goods started falling at its level. On 24th May 2021 he regains the position of the wealthiest man in the world.

Award

In February 2007 The Legion of Honour.

In  2011 The Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship.

In 2012  The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Personal life of Bernard Arnault

In 1973 he married Anne Dewavrin and they have two children Delphine Arnault born on 4th April 1975 & Antoine Arnault born on 4th June 1977. But the couple got separated in 1990. 

In  1991  he married  Helene Mercier, a Canadian concert pianist. They have three children Delphine, Antoine, Alexandre and Frederic.

Assets

His house in which he lives full time is in Bordeaux, France. located by vineyards in northwest Saint-Emilion in Bordeaux which he has purchased in 1998.

For his business and personal Travels he used his French Alps house. Located in the largest Sky area in the world with 34 luxury rooms, a private Chalet, and a penthouse Each house has a balcony of Mountain View.

The most luxurious apartment in his house collection is in Beverly Hills house Which is in California. Including five different home in this area, the total purchase cost is $ 125 million (Rs 9,07.63 Cr). 

He has also purchased a Superyacht of $ 150 million (Rs 10,89.12 Cr) It carries 36 passengers with a glass-bottom pool on the main deck, an outdoor cinema, a jacuzzi.

He also owns a private jet his Dassault Falcon 7X jet for $ 40 million (Rs 2,90.47 Cr).

Apart from the luxury house collection superyacht and private jet world’s wealthiest person has also on a private island in the Bahamas of $ 35 million (Rs 2,54.19 Cr).

Car Collection

BMW 760 Li X-Drive of $ 110,000 (Rs 79.88 Lacs).

BMW 7 series of $ 90,000 (Rs 65.35 Lacs).

Social Media portfolio

World wealthiest person has 338  followers on Twitter and on Instagram, he has 4752 followers as of June 2021.