THE PRESTIGE BRAND SUCCESS OF BERNARD ARNAULT How the Wealthiest Man You Don’t Know Made His Fortune
We live in an age where billionaires are celebrities, with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg regularly making headlines. But the man Forbes named the wealthiest person in the world in 2023 has mostly flown under the radar. So, who is Bernard Arnault, and how did he make his money? Today, Arnault is the CEO of French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which owns brands like Louis Vuitton, Dom Pérignon, Tiffany & Co., and Dior. But the 74-year-old began his career in real estate when he joined his father’s successful company. He moved
His next move was to acquire Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, which owned Dior’s prior perfume division. He completed a hostile takeover, which became his go-to strategy. Over the years, he continued buying struggling brands and rebuilding them into luxury goods empires. On top of his business acumen, experts have also credited Arnault with an eye for design and fresh talent. He has successfully brought new ideas into his companies and secured substantial media buzz. Expanding into Japan and China also proved wise, as Asia is now the company’s biggest market.
to the U.S. to expand his father’s empire but soon returned to France, bringing cutthroat Wall Street tactics with him. Arnault purchased his first luxury brand, Christian Dior, in 1984 while it was struggling financially. Reports indicate he may have used millions of his father’s money to finance the deal. After the acquisition, Arnault fired over 9,000 workers and sold off most of the company’s smaller labels, retaining only Dior. These strategies quickly earned him the notorious nickname “The Terminator,” but the floundering Dior became profitable again in 1989.
Arnault appears equally adept at retaining his wealth. His five children have close ties to the business, and the family owns a 48% stake in LVMH, intending to maintain control for the long haul. Others note that Arnault contributes much less to charity than many other billionaires, a move that may have helped his wealth accumulate. Since the Forbes ranking, Elon Musk has reclaimed his title as the world’s richest person, but Arnault sits comfortably in second place. His large portfolio and ruthless business tactics almost guarantee he won’t be strapped for cash soon.
MEET KRISTEN, RAMBLIN JACKSON’S WORLD RECORD HOLDER! OUR TEAM WOULDN’T BE THE SAME WITHOUT HER
This summer, a Nebraska volleyball game set a world record for the most people ever to attend a woman’s sporting event. The crowd was 92,003 people strong — and our lead account coordinator, Kristen Bloomquist, was one of them! “I couldn’t see the court very well — it was very far from where I was — but that wasn’t the point,” Kristen says. She wasn’t there to see the game; she was there to set a record. Sand volleyball is one of Kristen and her husband Jordan’s shared passions. They live in the tiny town of Elm Creek, Nebraska, where Jordan runs a local volleyball league. When they’re not playing, Kristen stays busy living the “slow, simple life” with their 4-year-old son, Camden, and working remotely for us at Ramblin Jackson.
Fun fact: Before Kristen became our lead account coordinator, she was a practicing landscape designer. We really lucked out when we found her! Not only does she know all about the green industry, but also she has a degree in graphic design and advertising and years of experience with marketing and social media. Hiring her was a no-brainer, and we were thrilled to celebrate her three- year Ramblerversary with us this summer. Today, Kristen oversees Ramblin Jackson’s growing team of account managers. If you have a Growth Plan with us, you might remember meeting her at your kickoff meeting. Apart from those meetings, Kristen usually stays behind the scenes, managing the creation of our clients’ website copy and putting together monthly reports on their website traffic, rankings, and more.
“I would say that my favorite part of my job is the people I get to work with,” Kristen says. “Ramblin Jackson is the type of company that puts everything out on the table. We have integrity, talk to each other like humans, and don't hide anything. After that, the best part of my work is building our clients’ web pages every month. I love design, and working on those websites gives me a tiny bit of creative play!” We’re as lucky to have Kristen today as we were to find her three years ago. Next time you talk to her, be sure to congratulate her on her world record.
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