Insider

Your all-access pass to FP

Adam Tooze: How Macron’s Ally Became the Richest Man in the World

Bernard Arnault is the king of luxury commerce and a fixture in French politics and culture.

By , a deputy editor at Foreign Policy.
Bernard Arnault, chief executive of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, speaks during a visit to the new Louis Vuitton factory in Alvarado, Texas.
Bernard Arnault, chief executive of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, speaks during a visit to the new Louis Vuitton factory in Alvarado, Texas.
Bernard Arnault, chief executive of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, speaks during a visit to the new Louis Vuitton factory in Alvarado, Texas, on Oct. 17, 2019. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

The richest person in the world, as of December 2022, is the French billionaire Bernard Arnault, whose fortune now amounts to some $220 billion. People outside of his home country may be less familiar with him than tech billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, but they’re likely to recognize the products that made him so wealthy: luxury brands ranging from Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton fashion to Hennessy liquor. In any case, Arnault has long been a fixture in French high society and politics.

Cameron Abadi is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @CameronAbadi

Join the Conversation

Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription.

Already a subscriber? .

Join the Conversation

Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now.

Not your account?

Join the Conversation

Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs.

You are commenting as .

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.