Bernard Arnault, who recently surpassed Elon Musk as the world’s richest person, shared who he personally looks up to and admires.
Key Details
- Arnault is the co-founder and CEO of LVMH—a group that oversees iconic brands such as Tiffany, Christian Dior, and Louis Vuitton.
- According to estimates from Bloomberg and Forbes, the 73-year-old billionaire’s overall net worth is between $172 billion and $191 billion.
- Over the years, Arnault has amassed his massive wealth by following strategies he says he learned from Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett.
- Arnault’s personal wealth has been steadily growing, but he was recently pushed to the top position after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk lost a significant amount of his overall wealth.
Why it’s news
Arnault is number one regarding wealth, but he still looks to his peers for lessons and inspiration. His greatest source of inspiration, Arnault says, is Warren Buffett.
Arnault told Forbes that he greatly admires Buffett’s ability to invest and stick with his original ideas. Buffett is “the person who I admire most in business,” Arnault says.
Buffett is known for his investing strategy called “buy-and-hold.” He suggests that investors must be patient and watch a stock’s performance over the long term rather than the day-to-day ebbs and flows. Arnault follows a similar practice. He says that having patience is one of the most valuable qualities in business.
When evaluating whether or not he should acquire the Italian jewelry brand Bulgari, Arnault reportedly spent nearly a decade waiting for the right time to make his move.
Arnault has also expressed admiration for Apple founder Steve Jobs. Arnault once told Forbes that Job’s success at Apple was largely due to the founder’s creativity and ability to manage company growth.
In his luxury goods businesses, Arnault says he has had to take similar strategies by working with designers and creatives to make their ideas possible in the real world.
