#296 Bernard Arnault (The Richest Man in the World)

**David Senra** (0:00)
I want to tell you about a one-time only limited event that I don't think you're going to want to miss. I am doing a live show with Patrick O'Shaughnessy from the Invest Like the Best podcast in New York City on October 19th. Patrick has interviewed over 300 of the world's best investors and founders for his podcast. I've read over 300 biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs for my podcast. We'll be talking about what we learned from seven years of podcasting, sharing our favorite ideas and stories, and doing a live Q&A. There will also be special event-only swag. If you live in New York City, I think it's a no-brainer. But if not, I think it's a great excuse to fly in. I've already heard from a bunch of people that bought tickets, they're flying in from other cities. Some people are flying in from other countries. That's setting the bar really high, so I will have at least four shots of espresso or four energy drinks before or during the show so we can make it a night that you'll never forget. If you're interested in attending this unique live event, I will leave a link down below. I highly recommend you get your tickets today, and I hope I get to see you in New York on October 19th. What's amazing about this book is that when it ends, Bernard Arnault is only 42 years old and he already has his blueprint in place, the plan that he's gonna execute on for the next 30 years. And today, LVMH for many businesses in the luxury industry has become the buyer of choice, the obvious place to go if you wanna sell your luxury business. The sponsor of this episode, Tiny, is well on their way to being the buyer of choice for founders who want a straightforward cash exit without any of the headache. If you have a business that you wanna sell today or in the future, go to tiny.com to get in touch. You'll get a response from Tiny within 48 hours or you can just email Tiny directly at high at tiny.com. They can do deals of all sizes. They have bought businesses for as little as a million dollars to businesses well over a hundred million dollars. If you want to sell your business, make sure you get in touch with Tiny first.
And one more thing, on this episode, you're gonna hear me refer to Bernard as a killer, a killer to get the job done. That is a line that I heard on this fantastic episode of Invest Like the Best. If you're not already following that show, make sure you follow the show in whatever podcast player you're listening to this in. I will also leave the link down below and make sure you listen to the episode called Doug Leone Lessons from a Titan. I've listened to it twice. It is excellent.
I'm the boss. I should be here on Monday morning and I should be running the company in person.
LVMH had entered a new chapter of its history. Bernard Arnault had taken power. He did not realize how harsh his words sounded. That was not the type of thing that he cared about. For him, the stakes were altogether different.
Yesterday, he had taken over Boussac, the ailing textile empire. Today, he was in control of LVMH.
A few days before his 40th birthday, this youngster was at the head of the most expensive company in France.
As chairman of the world's leading manufacturer of luxury goods, he now owned the most prestigious French brands. Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, Givonti, Moet, Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, all acquired in less than five years.
He was the first of a new breed of capitalists.
Friday the 13th, January 1989 was the day that he took office. The 15 people invited to witness the event at LVMH's head office were beginning to filter into the large conference room.
They each had played a decisive role in this affair, which had all the makings of a Greek tragedy. They all knew they had no choice but to go along with Arnault. He quickly inspected those present. Only one was missing, Henri Racamir, the chairman of Louis Vuitton. This senile old fool, as he had started to call him, was really beginning to get on Bernard's nerves. He had to get rid of him as soon as possible. The noise of the door opening interrupted his thoughts. Racamir made an entrance. This was merely the first step. Racamir would fight to the end against this youngster whom he had sought out a year before in the hopes of neutralizing the insufferably pretentious Alain Chevalier, this is the guy that was running Moet-Hennessy before it merged with Louis Vuitton, a mistake which had backfired on him. But Racamir had no intention of letting himself be pushed around. This 76-year-old was thirsting for revenge. From now on, he would wake each morning vowing to topple Arnault. If he had one quality, it was perseverance. At 11:30 a.m., a triumphant Bernard Arnault arrived at Moet-Hennessy. He was anxious to personally check the text which announced his election. Two draft press releases had been prepared. The first and longer one paid homage to the previous management. The second simply announced the appointments without any frills.