logo
episode-header-image
About this episode

We tell the full history of LVMH, and how Bernard Arnault turned a $15m investment in a bankrupt French textile company into the world’s largest individual fortune. It’s a story that’s equal parts Berkshire Hathaway, Steve Jobs and Barbarians at the Gate… and wholly under-appreciated for the genius business model innovations that enabled it. Whatever industry you operate or invest in, there’s so much to be learned from Bernard and LVMH’s complete reshaping of the luxury sector over the past three and a half decades. And oh yeah, it also involves Nazi spies, Italian family murders, Rupert Murdoch, Rihanna becoming a billionaire, Jay-Z’s champagne feuds and Beyoncé wearing a 128 carat diamond. Tune in! :) 

Links:

Carve Outs:

Sponsors:

Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsn
Vanta: http://vanta.com/acquired
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25


More Acquired!

© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

Up next
Today
Coca-Cola
<p>Coca-Cola is… sugar water. And somehow it’s also America, Christmas, summertime, friendship and happiness. Today we tell the story of how The Coca-Cola Company amazingly transmogrified a beverage into emotion in all of our collective psyches, and ALSO built one of the most inc ... Show More
4h 4m
Oct 27
Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe's breaks every rule of modern retail. They don't do e-commerce. They don't do delivery. No sales, coupons, or loyalty programs. They only stock 4,000 SKUs versus 50,000+ at normal supermarkets. Their parking lots are famously terrible and they're constantly out of your ... Show More
3h 28m
Oct 6
Google: The AI Company
Google faces the greatest innovator's dilemma in history. They invented the Transformer — the breakthrough technology powering every modern AI system from ChatGPT to Claude (and, of course, Gemini). They employed nearly all the top AI talent: Ilya Sutskever, Geoff Hinton, Demis H ... Show More
4h 6m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2022
LVMH: The Wolf in Cashmere’s Conglomerate - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 68]
This is Zack Fuss, an investor at Irenic Capital Management. Today we’re breaking down the world’s largest luxury business, LVMH. The LVMH story is deeply reflective of the vision of its 73 year-old founder and architect, Bernard Arnault. Today, the business generates €75 billion ... Show More
53m 35s
Jul 2024
#355 Rare Bernard Arnault Interview
What I learned from reading The House of Arnault by Brad Stone and Angelina Rascouet.  ---- Founders Notes gives you the superpower to learn from history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. You can search all my notes and highlights from every book I've ever read for the podcast. ... Show More
44m 2s
Oct 2023
Bernard Arnault: The wolf in cashmere
The rise and rise of the French entrepreneur who vies with Elon Musk for the title of richest person in the world. Bernard Arnault is the head of luxury brand conglomerate LVMH, a house of brands that owns Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessey, Christian Dior, Sephora, Tiffany ... Show More
43m 27s
Jul 2022
Gucci vs Louis Vuitton | The Wolf in Cashmere | 2
<p>Now merged with luxury drinks company Moët Hennessy, Louis Vuitton finds itself being squeezed out, overpowered in the merger. In an attempt to regain control, Louis Vuitton’s CEO forms an alliance with Bernard Arnault, one of France’s most ambitious businessmen. Louis Vuitton ... Show More
39m 37s
Jan 2023
#299 - Bernard Reybier - Fermob - Miser sur le design et le Made in France pour produire du mobilier intemporel
<p>Être entrepreneur c’est rester acteur de son destin coûte que coûte. Vrai ou faux ?&nbsp;</p> <p>Il y a 30 ans, Bernard Reybier reprend une fabrique de mobilier qui glissait vers la déroute. Depuis, <a href="https://www.fermob.com/fr/?gclid=CjwKCAiAqaWdBhAvEiwAGAQltnU96_O-ROn3 ... Show More
2h 50m
Feb 2021
1069 Grant Cardone: Mastering Money, Persuasive Negotiation & Building a Billionaire Mindset
<p>“Wealthy people don’t spend money, they invest money.”</p><p>Today’s guest is billionaire, bestselling author, and businessman, Grant Cardone! He owns and operates seven privately held companies, a private equity real estate firm with a multifamily portfolio of assets worth ov ... Show More
1h 11m
Feb 2024
Adam Neumann's bid for WeWork's scraps
Here’s the rundown: Deals of the Week: Adam Neumann wants to buy WeWork from bankruptcy, Starship Technologies raised $90 million for a product that 100% of the crew love, and Ambience Healthcare’s massive $70 million round also got a warm reception for its target market. Lat ... Show More
37m 1s
Dec 2023
Wondery: Hernan Lopez
<p>When Hernan Lopez founded Wondery in 2016, podcasts were just starting to go mainstream. Five years later, his team had scored a number of hit shows and sold to Amazon for a reported $300 million. Not bad for an immigrant from Argentina who moved to the U.S. in his late 20s wi ... Show More
1h 16m
May 2021
#191 - Martin Ohannessian - Le petit Ballon - Le business du bon vivant
<p>Vendre du vin en ligne ? Aujourd’hui cette idée vous semble peut-être presque normale mais replaçons les choses à l’époque où <a href="https://fr.linkedin.com/in/martinohannessian" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Martin Ohannessian</a> a lancé le <a href="https://www ... Show More
2h 19m