Bernard Arnault : A Life
About this book
How, starting from a small family business, did Bernard Arnault become, in less than twenty years, one of the richest and most influential men in France? As the main shareholder of LVMH, the world's leading luxury group, Christian Dior, and hundreds of other companies, Bernard Arnault burst into the heart of French capitalism by taking over the Boussac empire. He was 35 years old, had a provincial look, and was utterly determined. The 'exterminating angel' distrusted everything and everyone. Thus, fearing to be shot down, he drew first.This continued until that day in March 1999 when he learned that his alter ego François Pinault had just snatched the Italian luxury leather goods maker Gucci from him. More than a financial blow, it was a personal wound that Bernard Arnault could not tolerate. A fierce battle ensued...Airy Routier paints a Balzacian universe, that of the last thirty years of French economic and financial life, which have seen, through political changes, industrial empires collapse and new fortunes emerge. Through the secrets of Bernard Arnault's success, 'The Exterminating Angel' lifts the veil on methods that starkly contrast with the polished image that the king of luxury wants to present of himself.