French billionaire and luxury titan Bernard Arnault is chairman and CEO of the world’s largest luxury goods company, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA.

He graduated with an engineering degree from the elite Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, and then in 1971 he joined his father’s construction company, Ferret-Savinel. Arnault once said he was considered a “heretic” for going into business instead of science or government; even today, his alma mater does not list him among their famous alumni. In 1979, he took over as president of the company, shifted the focus to real estate and changed the name to Férinel. This was the launch pad that would lead to greater scale achievements in the luxury sector, where he’d become known as the “pope of fashion.”

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With his family’s money, Arnault bought an ailing textile business for its unseen gem, Chistian Dior. Later, when he took over as president and chairman, he added Dior to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. With a portfolio of 60 brands including Vuitton, Moët and Chandon champagne, Givenchy, Emilio Pucci, Sephora, Marc Jacobs and Fendi, LVMH is indisputably the world’s largest luxury group.

In 2007, LVMH bought France’s leading business newspaper, Les Echos (sister paper to the Financial Times), stirring concern about the future of its editorial independence. In 2008, LVMH won a landmark battle with eBay over counterfeit merchandise, and Arnault increased his stake in Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer, through his Groupe Arnault investment vehicle.