He only invested in luxury; his prize was to be the richest: Bernard Arnault

Who is Bernard Arnault?

He was born on March 5, 1949 in the city of Roubaix, located on the northern border of France. His full name is Bernard Jean Etienne Arnault. He completed his primary and secondary education in Roubaix and Lille, respectively. Arnault, who went to Paris for his university education, graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique University in 1971.

After graduating from school, he got a job as an engineer at his family's construction company, Ferret-Savinel. Arnault changed the face and course of the family business in as little as three years. He made a breakthrough in real estate under the name of Férinel and made a lot of profit. This profitability showed everyone what Arnault is capable of. At a very young age (30), he took over the management of the company and his father's seat.

Leaving Ferinel in 1984, Arnault bought the textile company Boussac, which was about to go under. After the purchase, he sold all of the company's assets. He only kept the Bon Marché chain of stores and the Christian Dior brand. It was a very risky move for that period. But it was one of the key investments that brought Arnault to where it is today.

Möet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, two long-established family companies that decided to merge in 1987, were going through a very painful process full of disagreements on the way to establishing a partnership. Bernard Arnault came to the aid of these two giants as a mediator. Financially supported by the famous Irish brewer, the businessman became LVMH's largest shareholder in 1987. Within two years, Arnault, who became the chairman and CEO of the company, managed to gather all the power in his hands.

Investing in luxury consumption in different sectors, Arnault bought Céline, which focused on leather products in 1988, the leather menswear company Berluti and Kenzo fashion house in 1993, Guerlain, which was involved in the perfumery industry in 1994. It's not over yet: in 1996 another leather goods manufacturer took over Loewe. Then, he bought Sephora, which manufactures cosmetics, in 1997, the famous shirt manufacturer Thomas Pink in 1999, the Emilio Pucci fashion house in 2000, and important brands such as Fendi and DKNY in 2001, and the famous store La Samaritaine. Arnault, the aspirant of luxury consumer brands, bought the newspaper "La Tribune" in 1993, surprising everyone. He continued to remain as a media magnate, buying “Les Echos” and “Le Parisien” right after he disposed of this newspaper.

LVMH, a very active and powerful French group, opened to America at the request of Bernard Arnault. Arnault has made a solid entry into this new market. Constructed of glass with modern lines befitting a fashion giant, the 23-story LVMH tower opened on 57th Street in New York City in 1999. The first two floors of the tower, which serves as the administration building, are used as the Christion Dior store.

Arnault sought to break the monopoly of Christi and Sotheby's in the industry by buying the British art auction house Philips in 1999. Even though he made an attempt to buy Sotheby's in 2001, this attempt was unsuccessful. Thereupon, Arnault, who bought the Tajan auction house, did not continue to compete after a few years, thinking that he could not break this monopoly. Until 2015! The businessman, who made a large investment in the German auction site Auctionata, showed his competitors that he did not give up on this sector.

Like any human being, Arnault made mistakes. Arnault invested heavily in the dotcom bubble and bought shares in MP3.com and eBay. Then, he created an internet fund called Europ@web with his $91 million savings to support startups in Europe. Realizing that things would not go as he wanted, Arnault closed this company, monetized his shares in several companies and left the dotcom bubble with minimal damage. Moreover, not all of their investments have failed. Arnault had managed to invest in 1999 when Netflix was still a DVD rental company.

Arnault, who loves to ski with his family, showed his business acumen here as well. In 2006, the “Cheval Blanc” ski resort located in Courchevel, which has a restaurant with two Michelin stars, was put into service under the name of LVMH. French West Indies, Maldives, and St. He opened hotels in Tropez.

Like every billionaire in the world, Bernard Arnault owns a mega yacht. But when it comes to luxury consumption, you must have understood that Arnault doesn't like to be just a customer. Having acquired Princess Yachts and the Royal Van Lent shipyard in 2008 for $257 million, Arnault had the 101-meter mega yacht Symphony built here, worth 152 million dollars.

Arnault decided to open LVMH's doors to visitors in 2011 at the suggestion of his son Antoine. Many fashion houses, from Louis Vuitton workshops to Fendi's Palace of Civilization in Italy, were opened to the public during the trips organized under the name of "Les Journées Particulieres" (special occasions). The visit of 18,000 people to these houses during the trip organized last year reveals the greatness of the interest shown.

Arnault applied for dual citizenship in Belgium in 2012, when the French Government was discussing the now shelved, 75% income tax on earners of $1.13 million or more. This application became the agenda in France and was discussed for a long time. Arnault, who said that he did not apply for dual citizenship to avoid taxes, withdrew his application as "a sign of his commitment to France and his belief in its future".

Arnault was honored with the "Legion d'Honneur", the highest state honor of the French Government, in 2011. Also in 2013, the British government awarded him the Order of the British Empire knighted.

Having realized the idea of ​​his daughter Delphine, Arnault began handing out the Young Fashion Designers LVMH Award in 2013. 5000 young fashion designers participated in this organization with a 341 thousand dollar award and the dream of working for LVMH. Working for the future of the group of companies he owns, Arnault announced that he has created an incentive program for 50 promising international start-ups under the name of “La Maison Des Startups” (Startup House).

Arnault, who has always been in competition, made a radical decision in 2014 and put his shares in Hermès up for sale. He also announced that he would not take part in such a stock race for five years. With this move by Arnault, the four-year race to take over Hermès, filled with blackmail, illegitimate deals and hostilities, was over.

Arnault, who was Dior's largest shareholder for a long time, announced in 2017 that he was the sole owner of the company with a $13 billion deal. Arnault, who added Christian Dior to the LVMH group right after, became the richest man in Europe with this move.

Private life

Anne Dewavrin and Bernard Arnault were married in 1973. But their marriage lasted only 13 years. The couple had two children, Delphine and Antoine, from this marriage. Arnault, who later married Canadian pianist Hélène Mercier, had three children named Alexandre, Frédéric and Jean from this marriage. The couple is now living a happy life in Paris. Four of Arnault's five children found a place under the LVMH roof.

Although a somewhat unusual collaboration, we know that Steve Jobs consulted Arnault when considering opening Apple stores. As Arnault quotes, Jobs said of himself, "Bernard, you know it too, I don't know if the iPhone will still be a success fifty years from now, but I'm sure everyone will be drinking your Dom Pérignons."