Bernard Arnault

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Lore & Background

Bernard Arnault was born on 5 March 1949 in Roubaix. His mother, pianist Marie-Josèphe Savinel, had a 'fascination for Dior.' His father, manufacturer Jean Léon Arnault, owned the civil engineering company Ferret-Savinel. Raised in a 'strict Catholic-Auvergne' style by his devoutly Catholic grandmother, Arnault took classical piano lessons and was educated at Catholic schools. He studied civil engineering and mathematics at École Polytechnique, graduating in 1971. He began work for his father's company, convincing him to shift focus to real estate; Ferret-Savinel sold its industrial construction division and was renamed Ferinel. In 1984, Arnault heard the French government was set to choose someone to take over Boussac Saint-Frères, a textile and retail conglomerate that owned Christian Dior. With help from Antoine Bernheim of Lazard Frères, he acquired Financière Agache, became its CEO, and won Boussac for a ceremonial one franc. He laid off 9,000 workers in two years, earning the nickname 'The Terminator,' sold nearly all assets, keeping only Christian Dior and Le Bon Marché. By 1987, the company was profitable again, booking earnings of $112 million on revenue of $1.9 billion. He worked with Alain Chevalier and Henry Racamier to form LVMH in 1987. In July 1988, he provided $1.6 billion to form a holding company with Guinness holding 24% of LVMH shares. He spent $600 million to buy 13.5% more, becoming the largest shareholder. In January 1989, he spent another $500 million to gain 43.5% of shares and 35% of voting rights, then ousted Racamier from the board. On 13 January 1989, he was unanimously elected chairman of the executive management board.

Reader's Guide

Arnault's significance lies in his transformation of LVMH into the world's largest luxury goods company. After assuming leadership, he led an ambitious development plan; in eleven years, annual sales and profit rose by a factor of 5, and market value increased by a factor of 15. In July 1988, he acquired Céline. LVMH acquired Berluti and Kenzo in 1993, the same year Arnault bought La Tribune. In 1994, LVMH acquired Guerlain. In 1996, he bought Loewe, followed by Marc Jacobs and Sephora in 1997. Five more brands were integrated: Thomas Pink in 1999, Emilio Pucci in 2000, and Fendi, DKNY, and La Samaritaine in 2001. In the 1990s, he developed the LVMH Tower in New York, opening in December 1999. In 1999, he amassed a 34.4% stake in Gucci, but after a legal fight, LVMH sold its shares and realized a $700 million profit in September 2001. In 1998, with Albert Frère, he purchased Château Cheval Blanc personally; LVMH acquired his share in 2009. From 1998 to 2001, he invested in web companies like Boo.com, Libertysurf, and Zebank through Europatweb; Groupe Arnault also invested in Netflix in 1999. In 2007, Blue Capital announced Arnault owned jointly with Colony Capital 10.69% of Carrefour. In 2008, he bought Princess Yachts for 253 million euros and took control of Royal van Lent shipyard. From 2010 to 2013, he was a member of the Board of Advisors of the Malaysian 1MDB fund. On 7 March 2011, he announced acquisition of 50.4% of Bulgari for $5.2 billion. In 2011, he invested $641 million in LCapitalAsia. In 2016, LVMH sold DKNY to G-III Apparel Group. In April 2017, he announced acquisition of Christian Dior haute couture, leather, ready-to-wear, and footwear lines, integrating the entire brand within LVMH. By January 2018, he had led the company to record sales of €42.6 billion in 2017, 13% over the previous year; net profit increased by 29%. Following the 2019 Notre-Dame fire, he donated €200 million to rebuilding efforts. His leadership has led to LVMH becoming the largest company by market capitalization in the eurozone.

Did You Know?

• Arnault acquired the financially-struggling Boussac Saint-Frères for a ceremonial one franc in 1984.
• He laid off 9,000 workers in two years after buying Boussac, earning the nickname 'The Terminator'.
• In 1987, he worked with Alain Chevalier and Henry Racamier to form LVMH by merging Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy.
• He donated €200 million to the rebuilding efforts following the 2019 Notre-Dame fire in Paris.
• Groupe Arnault invested in Netflix in 1999.