Historydraft LogoHistorydraft Logo
Historydraft
beta
Historydraft Logo
Historydraft
beta

  • Roubaix, France
    Saturday Mar 5, 1949

    Birth

    Roubaix, France
    Saturday Mar 5, 1949

    Arnault was born in Roubaix, France, on March 5, 1949.




  • Palaiseau, France
    1971

    Graduation

    Palaiseau, France
    1971

    Arnault graduated from the École Polytechnique in Palaiseau, with a M.Sc, degree in 1971.




  • France
    1971

    After Graduation

    France
    1971

    After graduation in 1971, Arnault joined his father's company (Ferret-Savinel).




  • France
    1973

    Marriage

    France
    1973

    Arnault married Anne Dewavrin in 1973.




  • Paris, France
    1974

    Férinel

    Paris, France
    1974

    Using the name Férinel, the new company developed a specialty in holiday accommodation. Arnault Named the Director of Company Development in 1974.




  • Paris, France
    1976

    Liquidating the Construction Division

    Paris, France
    1976

    In 1976, Arnault convinced his father to liquidate the construction division of the company for 40 million French francs and to change the focus of the company to real estate.




  • Paris, France
    1977

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

    Paris, France
    1977

    Arnault became the CEO of Férinel in 1977.


  • Paris, France
    1979

    President of the Company

    Paris, France
    1979

    In 1979, Arnault succeeded his father as president of the company.


  • Paris, France
    1984

    Antoine Bernheim

    Paris, France
    1984

    In 1984, with the help of Antoine Bernheim, a senior partner of Lazard Frères, Arnault acquired the Financière Agache, a luxury goods company.


  • France
    1984

    CEO of Financière Agache

    France
    1984

    Arnault became the CEO of Financière Agache and subsequently took control of Boussac Saint-Frères, a textile company in turmoil.


  • Avenue Montaigne, Paris, France
    1984

    Christian Dior

    Avenue Montaigne, Paris, France
    1984

    Boussac owned Christian Dior, the department store Le Bon Marché, the retail shop Conforama, and the diapers manufacturer Peaudouce. Arnault sold nearly all the company's assets, keeping only the prestigious Christian Dior brand and Le Bon Marché department store.


  • Paris, France
    1987

    LVMH

    Paris, France
    1987

    In 1987, shortly after the creation of LVMH, the brand new luxury group resulting from the merger between two companies, Arnault mediated a conflict between Alain Chevalier, Moët Hennessy's CEO, and Henri Racamier, president of Louis Vuitton.


  • Paris, France
    Jul, 1988

    A Holding Company

    Paris, France
    Jul, 1988

    In July 1988, Arnault provided $1.5 billion to form a holding company with Guinness that held 24% of LVMH's shares.


  • 16 rue Vivienne, 75002, Paris, Paris, France
    Jul, 1988

    Céline

    16 rue Vivienne, 75002, Paris, Paris, France
    Jul, 1988

    In July 1988, Arnault acquired Céline.


  • Paris, France
    Friday Jan 13, 1989

    Chairman of the Executive Management Board

    Paris, France
    Friday Jan 13, 1989

    On 13 January 1989, he was unanimously elected chairman of the executive management board of LVMH.


  • France
    1990

    Divorce

    France
    1990

    Arnault divorced Anne Dewavrin in 1990.


  • France
    Monday Sep 23, 1991

    Marry Again

    France
    Monday Sep 23, 1991

    In September 23, 1991, Arnault married Hélène Mercier.


  • Paris, France
    1993

    La Tribune

    Paris, France
    1993

    In 1993, Arnault bought out the French economic newspaper La Tribune.


  • Madrid, Spain
    1996

    Loewe

    Madrid, Spain
    1996

    In 1996, Arnault bought out Loewe.


  • London, England, U.K.
    1990s

    Investments

    London, England, U.K.
    1990s

    From 1998 to 2001, Arnault invested in a variety of web companies such as Boo.com, Libertysurf, and Zebank through his holding Europatweb.


  • Los Gatos, California, U.S.
    1999

    Netflix

    Los Gatos, California, U.S.
    1999

    Groupe Arnault invested in Netflix in 1999.


  • New York, U.S.
    Dec, 1999

    LVMH Tower

    New York, U.S.
    Dec, 1999

    Arnault decided to develop a centre in New York to manage LVMH's presence in the United States. The result was the LVMH Tower that opened in December 1999.


  • France
    2000s

    Art Collector

    France
    2000s

    Arnault's collection includes work by Picasso, Yves Klein, Henry Moore, and Andy Warhol. He was also instrumental in establishing LVMH as a major patron of art in France.


  • 16th arrondissement, Paris, France
    2006

    Louis Vuitton Foundation

    16th arrondissement, Paris, France
    2006

    In 2006, Arnault started the building project of the Louis Vuitton Foundation. Dedicated to creation and contemporary art, the building was designed by the architect Frank Gehry.


  • Boulogne-Billancourt, France
    2007

    Carrefour

    Boulogne-Billancourt, France
    2007

    In 2007, Blue Capital announced that Arnault owns jointly with the California property firm Colony Capital acquired 10.69% of France's largest supermarket retailer and the world's second-largest food distributor Carrefour.


  • Paris, France
    Nov, 2007

    Les Échos

    Paris, France
    Nov, 2007

    Arnault sold La Tribune in November 2007 in order to buy a different French economic newspaper, Les Échos, for 240 million euros.


  • Plymouth, England, U.K.
    2008

    Princess Yachts

    Plymouth, England, U.K.
    2008

    In 2008, Arnault entered the yacht business and bought Princess Yachts for 253 million euros.


  • Netherlands
    2008

    Royal van Lent

    Netherlands
    2008

    In 2008, Arnault took control of Royal van Lent for approximately 253 million euros.


  • Menara IMC, No 8 Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    2010s

    1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)

    Menara IMC, No 8 Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    2010s

    From 2010 until 2013, Arnault was a member of the Board of Advisors of the Malaysian 1MDB fund.


  • Belgium
    2013

    Request for Belgian Nationality

    Belgium
    2013

    In 2013, it was disclosed that Arnault planned to apply for Belgian citizenship and was considering moving to Belgium.


  • France
    Apr, 2013

    Misquoting

    France
    Apr, 2013

    In April 2013, Arnault said that he had been misquoted and that he never intended to leave France.


  • France
    Wednesday Apr 10, 2013

    Belgian Citizenship

    France
    Wednesday Apr 10, 2013

    On 10 April, 2013, Arnault announced that he had decided to abandon his application for Belgian citizenship, saying he did not want the move to be misinterpreted as a measure of tax evasion at a time when France faced economic and social challenges.


  • Parvis Notre-Dame – place Jean-Paul-II, Paris, France
    Monday Apr 15, 2019

    Charity

    Parvis Notre-Dame – place Jean-Paul-II, Paris, France
    Monday Apr 15, 2019

    Arnault's family pledged €200 million to help repair the Notre-Dame cathedral after a fire, said a statement issued on behalf of Arnault.


  • New York City, New York, U.S.
    Nov, 2019

    Arnault planned to acquire Tiffany & Co.

    New York City, New York, U.S.
    Nov, 2019

    In November 2019, Arnault planned to acquire Tiffany & Co. for approximately US $16.2 billion. The deal was expected to close by June 2020. LVMH then issued a statement in September 2020 indicating that the takeover would not proceed and that the deal was "invalid" because of Tiffany's handling of the business during the COVID-19 pandemic.


  • New Jersey, U.S.
    Sep, 2020

    Reason for the cancelation

    New Jersey, U.S.
    Sep, 2020

    In mid-September 2020, a reliable source told Forbes (magazine) that the reason for Arnault's decision to cancel the Tiffany purchase was purely financial: Tiffany was paying millions in dividends to shareholders despite a financial loss of US$32 million during the pandemic. Upon examination of financial records, Arnault discovered that some US$70 million had already been paid out by Tiffany, with an additional US$70 million scheduled to be paid in November 2020.


  • Paris, France
    Oct, 2020

    Tiffany and LVMH agreed to the original takeover plan

    Paris, France
    Oct, 2020

    In late October 2020, Tiffany and LVMH agreed to the original takeover plan, though at a slightly reduced price of nearly $16 billion, a minor reduction of 2.6% from the aforementioned deal. The new deal reduced the amount paid per share by LVMH from the original price of $135 to $131.50.


  • Paris, France
    Jan, 2021

    LVMH completed the purchase of Tiffany

    Paris, France
    Jan, 2021

    LVMH completed the purchase of Tiffany in January 2021.


  • Paris, France
    May, 2021

    LVMH has grown to become the largest company by market capitalization in the Eurozone

    Paris, France
    May, 2021

    Under Arnault's leadership, LVMH has grown to become the largest company by market capitalization in the Eurozone, with a record of 313 billion euros ($382 billion) as of May 2021.


  • Paris, France
    Monday May 24, 2021

    Temporarily became the richest man in the world

    Paris, France
    Monday May 24, 2021

    Arnault has promoted decisions towards decentralizing the group's brands as a business strategy. As a result of these measures, brands under the LVMH umbrella such as Tiffany are still viewed as independent firms with their own history. For a very brief period on May 24, 2021, Arnault temporarily became the richest man in the world, surpassing Jeff Bezos with a net worth of 187.3 billion dollars. A few hours later, however, Amazon stock ticked up and Jeff Bezos retook the spot and reclaimed it.


<