Bernard Arnault: biography, state

One of the richest people in France - Bernard Arnault, whose fortune, according to the magazine Forbes, is estimated at thirty-seven billion euros - to this success went purposefully. Since 1989, he has been head of LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton), the company that is the leader in the production and sale of luxury goods.

Start

Father Arno had a small construction firm, and although she was not in the son's ambitions, she handed her to a 25-year-old young man. Bernard Arnault parted with the construction at the first opportunity, just two years later, his father put before the fact of sale after the transaction. Then four years the young man studied in the US business and studied the procedures of mergers and acquisitions perfectly, adopting American methods of hostile capture of companies.

In France, this knowledge quickly turned into skills. Money from the sale of the family business was successfully invested more than successfully. It so happened that Boussac went bankrupt - a textile conglomerate that owned, among other things, the famous fashion house Christian Dior. The French government was looking for a buyer among hunters for this tasty morsel. Bernard Arnault outstripped everyone, even Louis Vuitton. He took money from the bank, because he needed 80 million dollars, and he had 15, and bought shares of this company first from relatives who were owners, then from the government.

Luxury

The revival of the bogus company Boussac, in principle, was not planned. Arno sold off assets as far as possible. However, unexpectedly fell under the influence of the fashion world, Christian Dior decided to keep himself and create the production and sale of luxury goods at the level of the world leader. Naturally, from scratch it was impossible to do, and Bernard Arnault in 1988 began to buy shares of the newly formed company LVMH. It was a real rattling mixture: champagne "Moyet", brandy "Hennessy" and the world-famous firm "Louis Vuitton".

However, the unifying idea still was: different brands belonged to the class of luxury. The economy around the world is experiencing the conditions of globalization, untwisting and maintaining every single brand is expensive, and a single portfolio is not so hard. It turned out that even selling luxury goods, there is an opportunity to save, which is what Bernard Arnault did. The photo of this period shows a man as serious, equally confident.

Empire

This tactic brought fruits almost immediately. Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) holds such vibrant fashion brands as Christian Lacroix, Givenchy, Kenzo, Loewe, Berluti, Guerlain, Celine, Fred jewelers and watchmakers Tag Heuer.

Alcohol brands have also increased - Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot, Krug, Pommery. The Empire is growing, and Bernard Arnault, whose biography is a life story of one of the born businessmen, is still one of the most active buyers in the world.

Not without defeats

One of them happened when trying to add to the existing own share of the shares of Gucci all the rest, in order to become the sole owner. The proprietary family of this old and luxurious firm was very much in a quarrel - apparently tired of each other since 1923. By the 1980s, the company fell into decay. True, after thinking carefully, Bernard Arnault refused to buy because of the terrible neglect of all cases. Then I regretted this decision, but they asked for the company to be painfully expensive. He tried to persuade the manager, offering him a salary worthy of this step. He balked.

Then Arno, as they say, bit a bit and filed a lawsuit in the court of Holland ("Gucci" is registered in Amsterdam as a legal entity) about the company's unfair management. The manager (De Sole) was also not a shit: with a team of American business lawyers, he implemented the scheme for the dilution of capital, releasing twenty million shares. The share of Arno in the end was reduced by half. Then De Sole sold forty percent of shares to the competitor Arno-Francois Pinault, whom they had long ago encountered on the business trails.

But not without luck

In addition to the above, Bernard Arnault owns the auction company Philips, the same one. That has sold "Black square" of Malevich for fifteen million dollars. He also has his own media: financial publications Investir and Tribune, magazine for fans of art Connaissances Des Arts, radio station Classique, as well as ten percent of shares of the owner of the TV channel TF1 - corporation Bouigue. In addition, the investment in a holding of sixty Internet companies - Europatweb is constantly increasing.

The secret (and not a secret already!) Of the success of the businessman Bernard Arnault is the purchase of dying famous firms, which are then brought to the level of superprofits. The condition is growing dizzy. Business sense of the businessman at the level, besides he is lucky, and luxury products invariably enjoy increased demand. It should be noted that he is also famous for his charity. Arno is a sponsor of art galleries, supports all the disabled of the Academy of Fine Arts, who are trained there, spends a lot in searching for talents in art and business.

Personality

Bernard Arnault and family own an excellent collection of Renaissance paintings, they love classical music. The father of the family plays well himself on the piano, and married the famous pianist from Canada Helen Mercier, who gave birth to his children. Like almost all the French, Bernard Arnault is a gourmet. Loves a steak with blood and a chocolate cake. But familiarity does not recognize: even the most intimate ones turn to him and very often - in a whisper. He does not like to publicly speak, refuses to give an interview. He almost never smiles, and even his relatives never laughed at him. He does not speak much. He thinks a lot. This is the whole of Bernard Arnault.

Children

He has a lot of children (information is different), but for the inheritance - the French Empire LVMH - are fighting two: daughter Dolphin and son Antoine. The key asset of the portfolio of the group is Louis Vuitton, here Delphine Arno-Gansia was appointed its vice-president not long ago. Responsible position, as this brand generates much more than half of the total profits of the empire. Antoine is the head of another firm, the male one is Berluti.

Dolphin has a very good education, which enabled her to quickly make a career: a French business school and an English school of economics. Already in 2003 she was on the board of directors of LVMH. For five years she worked as deputy director of Christian Dior Couture, during which time the growth of sales grew twice as high as the industry average. It is possible that it is she who will inherit the whole empire created by her father. Although many continue to bet on Antoine. Nobody knows what Papa thinks about all this, who has three more children and many nephews.

Son of Bernard Arnaud

Dolphin is an introvert, all in the father. As speak about it witty Frenchmen, "Napoleon of the industry of luxury" or "wolf in a cashmere coat". Strict, severe and terse. Many believe that, of course, it will occupy a large and important post in the empire, something related to shares or chairing the board of directors. But Antoine is an extrovert, an excellent manager and may well become the face of the whole huge group. Colleagues praise him for his excellent communication skills. It was he who could persuade M. Gorbachev to appear in the advertisement of Louis Vuitton, who received the "Cannes Lions" award.

The constant hero of the secular chronicle, Antoine makes every step of his way, looking back at the work. The novel with Natalia Vodyanova's model only warmed up interest in the brand. Bernard Arnault and Vodyanova are bound by the fact that she is the wife of his son and the mother of his grandson Maxim. Antoine, for all his fun, is always internally assembled - for good reason he is considered the most experienced poker player (with a total winnings of six hundred thousand dollars), for this the head needs much more than luck. And he does not rule out that he will ever replace his father at his post. But not soon.

Spivakov and Louis Vuitton

As a true lover of classical music and a famous philanthropist, Bernard Arnault is familiar and is in friendship with many fine musicians. Vladimir Spivakov and Bernard Arno met on the same ground. The latter even made a very necessary gift to the musician on his birthday - a case for Stradivarius. Such that it was convenient not only to the violin, but also to the musician on endless tours. The case itself was made by Patrick-Louis Vuitton himself.

There were not only cash and a passport, but letters dear to the heart, contracts, strings, several bows, cufflinks, photographs of children, wives, some medicines, notebooks and much, much more. In the hard case pockets for all this does not happen. In this, a gift, there were not even pockets, but drawers with partitions, as if for jewelry. A unique luxury item for a musician who, in principle, is of any luxury alien. However, in this case it turned out not only uniquely, but also convenient.

Wonderful ship

Parisians call this house a crystal ship and consider one of the sights of the French capital, the architectural miracle of modernity. The initiative to create the Center for Contemporary Art is wholly owned by Bernard Arnault. He decided to give Paris such a special place, where culture and art will reign. The building of architect F. Gehry turned out in a futuristic style, very similar to a ship with sails full of wind.

Here in this beautiful house of the Louis Vuitton Foundation there was a performance by the Virtuosos of Moscow, a chamber ensemble directed by Vladimir Spivakov, a musician of world fame, whose violin with a fantastically famous name, having brilliantly played Bach and Tchaikovsky, resting in a case made no less skillful and Less famous hands. Things next to which life itself becomes a work of art.