Bernard Arnault, the world’s third-richest person and the wealthiest outside the US, heads the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate.
It owns 75 brands, or “maisons,” which it splits into six divisions: wines and spirits; fashion and leather goods; perfumes and cosmetics; watches and jewelry; selective retailing; and other activities. The fashion and leather goods division makes up about half of its revenues.
Its most recent major acquisition was US jeweler Tiffany and Co., which it bought for $15.8 billion in 2021 following a lengthy dispute. It broke records for being the luxury sector’s biggest-ever deal.
LVMH’s brands collectively have more than 6,000 stores, including about 2,500 in Asia, more than 1,000 in the US, and more than 500 in France. LVMH has more than 200,000 employees and reported revenues of 86.2 billion euros ($92.5 billion) for 2023.
Arnault has been at LVMH’s helm for decades.
In 1984, after working at his family’s real-estate company, Arnault bought consumer goods and manufacturing company Agache-Willot-Boussac, which owned Dior and department store Le Bon Marché. Arnault turned the “hodgepodge” company into a “treasure trove,” The New York Times reported in 1989. He renamed it Financière Agache and sold almost all of the company’s assets.
Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy merged in 1987 to create LVMH. Arnault used the money from the sale of Financière Agache’s assets to buy a controlling stake in the company, Bloomberg reported. In 1989, he became the conglomerate’s majority shareholder, chairman, and CEO.
