The year he turned 22, he began work as an engineer at his grandfather’s construction company in Roubaix. The year he turned 30, he was the company’s chairman. The year he turned 35, he won the bidding for Boussac, the textile group that owned Christian Dior. The year he turned 38, Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy merged into LVMH.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 39, he announced that he had become LVMH’s largest shareholder, and The New York Times described him as a pivotal figure in the fight over the group.
The year he turned 40, he was elected chairman of LVMH’s executive management board. The year he turned 45, LVMH and Guinness agreed to end their cross-shareholding, and LVMH bought a controlling stake in Guerlain. The year he turned 50, his group put $30 million into NetFlix.com, and the LVMH Tower opened in New York.
The year he turned 58, LVMH bought the newspaper Les Echos for 240 million euros. The year he turned 60, he sold half of Château Cheval Blanc to LVMH. The year he turned 62, LVMH agreed to buy Bulgari for 3.7 billion euros.
The year he turned 68, LVMH took control of Christian Dior Couture in a deal valued at around $13 billion. The year he turned 70, Forbes ranked him second-richest in July, LVMH agreed to buy Tiffany in November, and he briefly passed Jeff Bezos on December 16.
The year he turned 71, LVMH and Tiffany agreed new terms after months of disputes. The year he turned 72, LVMH completed the Tiffany purchase. The year he turned 73, he changed the legal structure of the family holding company Agache, and in December Forbes reported that he had overtaken Elon Musk as the world’s richest person.
The year he turned 74, he named his eldest daughter to run Dior, and LVMH became the first European company worth more than $500 billion. The year he turned 75, LVMH sponsored the Paris Olympic Games and his family prepared to take over Paris FC.
The year he turned 77, he used LVMH’s annual meeting to reaffirm the goal of making Tiffany the world’s leading jewelry brand within five years. In September, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index dropped him out of its top 10.
Bernard Arnault (born Mar 5, 1949) began work at the family construction company the year he turned 22 and became known on Sep 15, 1988, the year he turned 39, when he announced he had become LVMH’s largest shareholder. He was elected chairman of LVMH the year he turned 40.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Finished his studies at École Polytechnique and began work as an engineer at the construction company his grandfather founded in Roubaix.
Source 01 · Forbes · Behind The Billions: Bernard Arnault · opens in a new tabWas chairman of the company by 1979.
Source 01 · Forbes · Behind The Billions: Bernard Arnault · opens in a new tabBought the textile and retail group Boussac, which owned Christian Dior, for a symbolic one franc.
Source 03 · The New York Times · Tiffany Deal Is a Signature Move by the Sun Tzu of Luxury · opens in a new tabSource 02 · The New York Times · A Luxury Fight to the Finish · opens in a new tab Year from the news reports; the day is not given.Louis Vuitton merged with Moët Hennessy to form LVMH, the group he later took control of.
Source 02 · The New York Times · A Luxury Fight to the Finish · opens in a new tab Arnault was not a party to the merger; it is listed as the origin of the group he later led.The holding company bought 24 percent of LVMH’s stock for $1.5 billion.
Source 02 · The New York Times · A Luxury Fight to the Finish · opens in a new tabAnnounced that he had become the largest shareholder of LVMH. His group spent about $600 million in one week to raise its holdings to 37 percent.
The purchase raised his holdings with Guinness to 43.5 percent of LVMH’s shares and 35 percent of its voting rights.
Source 02 · The New York Times · A Luxury Fight to the Finish · opens in a new tab The month is from the report; the days are not given.Was unanimously elected chairman of the executive management board. The New York Times described him as LVMH’s 40-year-old chairman in December 1989.
Source 02 · The New York Times · A Luxury Fight to the Finish · opens in a new tabSource 27 · Wikipedia · Bernard Arnault · opens in a new tab Date from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports. The New York Times confirms he was chairman by December 1989.The two companies said they would end the 6-year-old arrangement. LVMH was to receive 11 billion francs ($1.86 billion).
Source 05 · The New York Times · Intimacy Proves Too Much for Guinness, LVMH · opens in a new tabPaid 1.96 billion francs for 51.2 percent of Djedi, the family company that owns 85.8 percent of Guerlain.
Source 06 · The Independent · Arnault expands perfume empire: LVMH buys controlling stake in Guerlain · opens in a new tab The Independent article is dated April 30, 1994; the announcement day is not given.The online DVD rental service said it had received the investment from Paris-based Group Arnault.
Source 07 · Variety · NetFlix gets $30 mil influx · opens in a new tabThe company’s American flagship office tower opened between Fifth and Madison Avenues. It was designed with the Hillier Group.
Source 08 · The New York Times · Designing The Nouveau Building On the Block · opens in a new tabSource 27 · Wikipedia · Bernard Arnault · opens in a new tab The New York Times reported on the opening week on December 15, 1999; the opening day is not given.Bought France’s biggest-selling business newspaper from the Pearson group for 240 million euros.
Source 09 · BBC News · LVMH buys Les Echos from Pearson · opens in a new tabBought the stake from Arnault, its chairman and controlling shareholder. He had bought the estate in 1998 with a Belgian businessman for a reported €155 million.
Source 10 · Decanter · LVMH buys 50% share in Chateau Cheval Blanc · opens in a new tabAgreed to buy the Italian jeweler for 3.7 billion euros ($5.2 billion).
Source 11 · Reuters · LVMH bags jeweller Bulgari in $5.2 billion deal · opens in a new tabThe joint venture with the Italian brand was part of a strategy to gain exposure to young and potentially fast-growing labels.
Source 12 · Reuters · LVMH invests in Italian brand Marco de Vincenzo · opens in a new tabThe Arnault family group offered to buy the 26 percent of Christian Dior it did not own, and LVMH agreed to acquire Christian Dior Couture at an enterprise value of €6.5 billion. Business of Fashion valued the deal at around $13 billion.
Source 13 · Business of Fashion · LVMH Takes Control of Christian Dior in $13 Billion Deal · opens in a new tabSales rose 13 percent for the year, with record profits.
Source 14 · U.S. News · Luxury Group LVMH Cautious for 2018 Despite Record Profits · opens in a new tabForbes put his fortune at $103.2 billion, up from $76 billion and fourth place in March.
Source 15 · Forbes · France’s Bernard Arnault Is Now World’s Second-Richest Person · opens in a new tabThe two companies announced a $16.2 billion deal.
Source 16 · Business of Fashion · LVMH Buys Tiffany in $16 Billion Deal · opens in a new tabFor part of the morning, Forbes’ real-time rankings put him ahead of Bezos after LVMH shares rose.
Source 17 · Forbes · French Billionaire Bernard Arnault Was (Briefly) The World’s Richest Person Today · opens in a new tab Forbes said the lead ended by the market close.LVMH agreed to pay $131.50 a share, $3.50 less than the original price, after months of public disputes between the companies.
Source 03 · The New York Times · Tiffany Deal Is a Signature Move by the Sun Tzu of Luxury · opens in a new tabLVMH said it had completed the purchase.
Source 18 · LVMH · LVMH completes the acquisition of Tiffany & Co. · opens in a new tabFortune reported that he passed Elon Musk after LVMH’s first-quarter revenue rose above pre-pandemic levels. He owns 47.5% of LVMH.
Source 19 · Fortune · Luxury magnate Bernard Arnault knocks off Elon Musk on world billionaire ranking · opens in a new tabChanged its legal structure to a joint-stock partnership to ensure family control over LVMH in the long term.
Source 20 · Reuters · LVMH’s Bernard Arnault restructures holding for ‘long-term family control’ · opens in a new tabForbes reported that he overtook Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person.
Source 01 · Forbes · Behind The Billions: Bernard Arnault · opens in a new tab Forbes gives the month; the day is not given.The Guardian reported that Delphine Arnault was named to run Christian Dior, the second-biggest brand in LVMH.
Source 21 · The Guardian · LVMH billionaire Bernard Arnault appoints daughter to run Dior · opens in a new tabIt became the first European company to do so. CNBC noted that Arnault was the world’s richest person on the Forbes real-time index.
Source 22 · CNBC · LVMH becomes the first European company to surpass $500 billion in market value · opens in a new tabCNBC reported it was the first time a luxury brand was an Olympic sponsor, at about $160 million of investment.
Source 23 · CNBC · LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault says Olympics sponsorship honors the spirit of France · opens in a new tab Date is the CNBC report on the day the Games opened.The family said it was preparing to complete the takeover of the second-tier club around Nov. 29. Red Bull was to take a minority share.
Source 24 · Reuters · France’s Arnault family says buying Paris FC soccer club is long-term investment · opens in a new tabAt the meeting in Paris, JCK reported, the group’s jewelry strategy centered on making Tiffany the world’s leading jewelry brand within five years, surpassing Cartier. Shareholders had approved raising the CEO age cap to 85.
Source 25 · JCK · LVMH’s Arnault Reaffirms Tiffany Ambitions, Flags Mideast Risks · opens in a new tabThe Bloomberg Billionaires Index put him at just over $143 billion, compared with more than $250 billion in the post-Covid boom in luxury demand.
Source 26 · The Drinks Business · LVMH boss Bernard Arnault drops out of world’s 10 richest people · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 1971–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Business · France
Mar 5, 1949 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1949: the year of the event minus 1949, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.30 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.