Seventy Four year-old French Billionaire, Bernard Arnault will most likely finish 2023 as the World Richest Person after first displacing X boss, Elon Musk in December 2022 in the Forbes list of Richest People.
Arnault and Musk have been alternating the top world’s richest people list in the last 12 months. But with the latest drop of Elon Musk whose wealth once peaked at $340 billion to now $180 billion, and Arnault cruising at $211billion, it is unlikely to have an upset.
Bernard Arnault oversees the LVMH Empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora.
LVMH acquired American jeweler Tiffany & Co in 2021 for $15.8 billion, believed to be the biggest luxury brand acquisition ever.
Arnault’s holding company Agache backs venture capital firm Aglaé Ventures, which has investments in businesses such as Netflix and TikTok parent company ByteDance.
His father made a small fortune in construction; Arnault got his start by putting up $15 million from that business to buy Christian Dior in 1984.
Arnault’s five children all work at LVMH; in July 2022, he proposed a reorganization of his holding company Agache to give them equal stakes.
Arnault holds a Bachelor of Arts/Science, Ecole Polytechnique de Paris.
Arnault is married to Helene Mercier, a concert pianist.
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