CEO of the Week: Louis Vuitton founder Bernard Arnault

“LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton,” also referred to as LV or Louis Vuitton, is a multinational holding company and conglomerate based in France that produces luxury goods. The company was founded in 1987, and its main office is in Paris, France.

The business is divided into several divisions, including Fashion & Leather Goods, Perfumes & Cosmetics, Watches & Jewelry, Wines & Spirits, Selective Retailing, and Other Activities & Eliminations.

The Wines & Spirits division manufactures and markets premium champagne and sparkling wines in addition to white liquor and vodka. Clothing, accessories, shoes, and luggage are all produced by the fashion and leather goods division.

Producing and distributing cosmetic, fragrance, and skin care products is the responsibility of the Perfumes & Cosmetics division. Watches & Jewelry is the division that produces high-end watches and accessories for both men and women.

The brain behind this luxury successful venture is Bernard Arnault who is the founder, chairman, and the CEO.

Who is Bernard Arnault?

1. Bernard Arnault was born on 5th March 1949 in Roubaix, a city in northern France
2. He completed his degree in engineering from Ecole Polytechnique, France leading engineering college in 1971, and started working for his father’s company ‘Ferret-Savinel’
3. In 1979 he succeeded his father as President, and shifted the company’s focus solely to real estate and renamed it as ‘Ferinel Inc’
4. He went on to acquire and become CEO of the Financiere Agache, a luxury goods company of France
5. He acquired Boussac Saint-Freres empire, a textile and retail conglomerate that owned Christian Dior, a luxury fashion house, in a bidding war set by the French government in 1987
6. The same year, he co-founded LVMH with Alain Chevalier, then-CEO of Moet Hennessy, and Henry Racamier, then-president of Louis Vuitton
7. In1989, he spent another $500 million dollars to gain control of a total of 43.5% of LVMH’s shares and 35% of its voting rights
8. In 2017, he became CEO of LVMH and Chairman of Christian Dior, of which he purchased all remaining shares for $13.1 billion dollars
9. In 1999, Bernard Arnault turned his eyes on Gucci, an Italian leather goods company, which was run by Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole and bought 5% stake before being detected. Gucci responded hostilely and called it a “creeping takeover”
10. He has been awarded ‘The Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship’ in 2011, ‘Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order’ of the British Empire in 2012, and ‘The Museum of Modern Art’s David Rockefeller Award’ in 2014
11. As of 2024, he has an estimated net worth of $18,200 crores, according to Forbes