Founders · Mar 5Bernard Arnault (The Richest Man in the World)
A Lazard banker became Arnault's mentor and taught him the holding structures and financial techniques he used for the rest of his career. The mentor also told him to wait for LVMH's founders to come to him.
Tips
- Arnault bought LVMH shares in the 1987 crash, on his mentor's advice to wait▶ 39:00LVMH was quoted at only 1,200 francs, down 50%, when he started looking at it.
- Arnault used a ladder of holding companies to control targets with other people's money▶ 37:02Turning Dior Couture into a holding company and offering its capital to private investors raised 3.3 billion francs to buy more LVMH shares.
- Arnault built relationships with powerful people and picked mentors like Lazard's Antoine Bernheim▶ 34:38Officials doubted his age and backing, and he surprised them by gaining support from some of the biggest names in French finance.
