Archrivals François Pinault and Bernard Arnault have competed for dominance on the global luxury-goods stage for decades. After numerous battles, the LVMH and Kering head honchos continue to fight for market share and status. Still, for all their quarreling, France’s richest men have more in common than perhaps they’d like to admit. Then again, that might be part of the problem.
Bernard Arnault
Masatoshi Okauchi/Shutterstock |
François Pinault
Clemens Bilan/Shutterstock |
|---|---|
| STARTED FROM…
The middle. After graduating from a prestigious university, |
STARTED FROM… The bottom. Born into a peasant family, |
| AGE
70 |
AGE
83 |
|
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 156,000 |
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 30,595 |
|
LOFTY SUSTAINABILITY GOALS Reduce LVMH’s CO2 emissions by 25 percent by 2020. |
LOFTY SUSTAINABILITY GOALS Reduce Kering’s CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2025. |
|
SUPERPOWER BRAND Louis Vuitton
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton |
SUPERPOWER BRAND Gucci
Courtesy of Gucci |
|
AFTER NOTRE DAME FIRE, IMMEDIATELY PLEDGED $222 million |
AFTER NOTRE DAME FIRE, IMMEDIATELY PLEDGED $111 million |
|
CLAIM TO MUSEUM FAME The $166 million La Maison LVMH/Arts-Talents-Patrimoine in Paris,
Gehry Partners/Dubuisson Architecture |
CLAIM TO MUSEUM FAME The $170 million Bourse de Commerce, slated to open in 2020,
Hemis/Alamy |
|
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY Hermès. LVMH relentlessly tried to take over the family-held |
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY Tom Ford. The fashion magnate left his post as creative director of |
|
ENVIABLE WINE ESTATE Château d’Yquem, a legendary dessert-wine maison,
Shutterstock |
ENVIABLE WINE ESTATE Clos de Tart, a Burgundy grand cru property for which
Shutterstock |
|
NET WORTH $103 billion |
NET WORTH $31 billion |
