Birth
Arnault was born in Roubaix, France, on March 5, 1949.
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History of Bernard Arnault
Saturday Mar 5, 1949 to Present
Paris, France
Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (born March 5, 1949) is a French billionaire business magnate, and art collector. He is the chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, LVMH, the world's largest luxury-goods company.
Graduation
Arnault graduated from the École Polytechnique in Palaiseau, with a M.Sc, degree in 1971.
After Graduation
After graduation in 1971, Arnault joined his father's company (Ferret-Savinel).
Marriage
Arnault married Anne Dewavrin in 1973.
Férinel
Using the name Férinel, the new company developed a specialty in holiday accommodation. Arnault Named the Director of Company Development in 1974.
Liquidating the Construction Division
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.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Arnault became the CEO of Férinel in 1977.
President of the Company
In 1979, Arnault succeeded his father as president of the company.
Antoine Bernheim
In 1984, with the help of Antoine Bernheim, a senior partner of Lazard Frères, Arnault acquired the Financière Agache, a luxury goods company.
CEO of Financière Agache
Arnault became the CEO of Financière Agache and subsequently took control of Boussac Saint-Frères, a textile company in turmoil.
Christian Dior
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.
LVMH
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.
A Holding Company
In July 1988, Arnault provided $1.5 billion to form a holding company with Guinness that held 24% of LVMH's shares.
Céline
In July 1988, Arnault acquired Céline.
Chairman of the Executive Management Board
On 13 January 1989, he was unanimously elected chairman of the executive management board of LVMH.
Divorce
Arnault divorced Anne Dewavrin in 1990.
Marry Again
In September 23, 1991, Arnault married Hélène Mercier.
La Tribune
In 1993, Arnault bought out the French economic newspaper La Tribune.
Loewe
In 1996, Arnault bought out Loewe.
Investments
From 1998 to 2001, Arnault invested in a variety of web companies such as Boo.com, Libertysurf, and Zebank through his holding Europatweb.
Netflix
Groupe Arnault invested in Netflix in 1999.
LVMH Tower
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.
Art Collector
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.
Louis Vuitton Foundation
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.
Carrefour
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.
Les Échos
Arnault sold La Tribune in November 2007 in order to buy a different French economic newspaper, Les Échos, for 240 million euros.
Princess Yachts
In 2008, Arnault entered the yacht business and bought Princess Yachts for 253 million euros.
Royal van Lent
In 2008, Arnault took control of Royal van Lent for approximately 253 million euros.
1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)
From 2010 until 2013, Arnault was a member of the Board of Advisors of the Malaysian 1MDB fund.
Request for Belgian Nationality
In 2013, it was disclosed that Arnault planned to apply for Belgian citizenship and was considering moving to Belgium.
Misquoting
In April 2013, Arnault said that he had been misquoted and that he never intended to leave France.
Belgian Citizenship
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.
Charity
Arnault's family pledged €200 million to help repair the Notre-Dame cathedral after a fire, said a statement issued on behalf of Arnault.
Arnault planned to acquire Tiffany & Co.
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.
Reason for the cancelation
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.
Tiffany and LVMH agreed to the original takeover plan
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.
LVMH completed the purchase of Tiffany
LVMH completed the purchase of Tiffany in January 2021.
LVMH has grown to become the largest company by market capitalization in the Eurozone
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.
Temporarily became the richest man in the world
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.