Short Daily Billionaire Insights | 3-mins Read

1. The Fun Stuff - Cool Story

His mother had a particular fascination for this one thing, little did she know this particular fascination would spark something in her little son, eventually making him one of the world's richest billionaires. But how do you become a billionaire from cow skin you wonder?

An Ordinary Beginning

Young Bernard was born into a good, devoutly Catholic French family, and there was nothing out of the norm that indicated he would become so wealthy.

His father owned a construction company, he went to university like other young men, studied engineering, and as was customary, upon graduation he joined his father to grow the family business. But as for his mother…

His mother, pianist Marie-Josèphe Savinel, daughter of Étienne Savinel, had a fascination for the luxury brand Dior. This fascination, coupled with the logical and pragmatic characteristics of his father, as well as Bernard's engineering training, gave him a unique advantage. So what of the cows?

The Leather Luxury Connection

Back then as well as now, cow skin was used in several luxury bags and fashion pieces. I can hear all the vegans screaming and yelling right now… 

They were in such demand that good quality crafted leather pieces oozed luxury and commanded a hefty price. And just like that, through his mother, Bernard was introduced to the wonderful world of high-priced luxury goods and he went wild…

Instead of sticking with his father's construction company and becoming rich solely from real estate, in 1984, Bernard, a young real estate developer, heard that the French government was set to choose someone to take over the Boussac Saint-Frères empire, a textile and retail conglomerate that owned Christian Dior.

Call him a genius, but his next move would literally alter his destiny and fortunes for the better. He decided to go to WAR…

The Dior Opportunity - Billionaire Growth

Bernard used shrewd business cunning and strategy to successfully engage in a bidding war for the Boussac Saint-Frères, which he eventually won. And just like that, he ended up becoming the owner of his mother's fascination, Dior.

As if going to war was not enough (Bidding War that is), it was what he did next that got him the tough nickname of the Terminator.

After buying the Boussac, he laid off 9,000 workers in two years and sold nearly all of the company's assets, keeping only the Christian Dior brand and Le Bon Marché department store. This was tough and most likely got him a lot of hate, but to be a successful business leader, you’ve got to be comfortable making tough decisions.

Just 3 years after acquiring the company, by 1987, the company was profitable again and booked earnings of $112 million on a revenue stream of $1.9 billion. However the guy refused to stop, he just couldn't resist the urge to get more cows…

Global Luxury Empire

Over the next couple of decades, Bernard kept on succeeding, merging and acquiring several companies, growing his luxury goods empire and expanding globally.

He eventually became the founder and owner of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Arnault was the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of about US $218 billion in May 2024.

2. The Actionable Stuff - BILLI Bullet

• Luxury markets and businesses rock. Why? Margins could go as high as 80% plus in comparison to other industries and regular businesses that have margins as low as 10%. Your customer base are much wealthier, nicer and are used to spending money freely on what they love. The lesson here is simple, find and harness your own "cow skin" in your industry, or get into another industry that has it. Find something that people get passionate about, love, and are willing to pay large amounts just to have exclusivity, status, and belong to a prestigious group. Who knows, you could become a future billionaire.

3. The Boring Stuff - Numbers & Info

BILLISPIRATION 😎

Never give up, never surrender, never, never, never. You’ve got this.