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Bernard Arnault

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (March 5, 1942- )
    Born in Roubaix, France
    CEO and Chair of the luxury goods holding company LVMH
    LVMH holdings include Louis Vuitton, Moet Hennessey, Tiffany and Company, Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Bulgari, Sephora, and Princess Yachts
    Recognized by Forbes as the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of $187.6 billion (2023)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was nicknamed ‘wolf in cashmere’ for his ruthlessness.
    He nepotistically gave his five children jobs with LVMH.
    He considered becoming a Belgian citizen to avoid French taxes (2013), prompting one left-wing newspaper to run the headline ‘Get Out, Rich Asshole.’
    His real estate dealings with Russian oligarch Nikolai Sarkisov have been investigated as part of a French probe into money laundering (2023).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He fulfilled his dream of running the world’s largest luxury company.
    He wooed his second wife, concert pianist Helene Mercier, by performing etudes by Chopin.
    He pledged €200 million ($226 million) to help restore Notre Dame Cathedral after it was badly damaged in a 2019 fire. (Although his motive may have been upstaging rival French luxury goods billionaire Francoise Pinault, who had given €100 million to the restoration effort.)
    He said to Steve Jobs about the timeless appeal of luxury brands, ‘I don’t know if we still use Apple products in 25 years, but I am sure we will still be drinking Dom Perignon.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying