Chairman of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group. Not an inventor of luxury—its most patient consolidator.
Bernard Arnault controls approximately 75 luxury brands (“Maisons”) under LVMH, spread across six core categories:
These brands span centuries of heritage and nearly every luxury price point—from a Dior lipstick to a Louis Vuitton trunk.
Roughly 70 out of ~75 brands were founded long before Arnault took control.
Most were founded between 1743 and the 1980s.
Examples include:
These brands already had history, legitimacy, and craft. Arnault didn’t buy brands—he bought depth.
Only ~5–8 brands were created or meaningfully launched under Arnault.
These were mostly new concepts or extensions—not traditional heritage fashion houses.
Examples include:
These leveraged LVMH’s distribution, capital, and branding machine. The platform mattered more than the product.
Over 90%+ of LVMH’s value comes from brands older than Arnault himself.
His genius wasn’t creation. It was selection, timing, and restraint.
He didn’t invent luxury. He consolidated it—like private equity with taste.