Bernard Arnault’s reputation as a master dealmaker predates the founding of LVMH, the luxury conglomerate he runs, in 1987. Three years before that, the French businessman bought Christian Dior’s then-parent, Boussac, for a meager one franc as it was trending toward bankruptcy.
At the time, Dior was still among the most prestigious luxury labels as it symbolized opulence. However, the owner, Marcel Boussac, who was called France’s “cotton king,” began to lose much of his textile empire under financial pressure.
With Dior as the foundation, Arnault doubled down on the deal streak when he subsequently established LVMH, which was born out of the merger of Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy. He became Dior’s chair and CEO and made it LVMH’s holding company.
The young entrepreneur left no stone unturned to build his fortune after that. He pushed Louis Vuitton’s president from his family company, fired some 9,000 people who worked at Boussac, and shed much of Boussac’s assets, earning him the moniker “the Terminator.” He also acquired a string of Maisons (or brands), including Givenchy, Loewe, and Fendi.
Today, LVMH has a market cap of €319 billion ($336 billion), houses 75 Maisons, and has made Arnault Europe’s wealthiest person with a net worth of $180 billion. He occasionally battled with criticism over building a company that was so big it couldn’t be touched.
“I remember people telling me it doesn’t make sense to put together so many brands. And it was a success. It is a recognized success,” Arnault told CNBC in 2018.
“And for the last 10 years now, every competitor is trying to imitate, which is very rewarding for us. I think they are not successful, but they try.”
While the luxury CEO has established his empire by snapping up numerous fashion and lifestyle companies, he’s had a few failures, too. None were more high profile than his attempted purchase of rival Hermès, which has long been a North Star for luxury buyers.
His ruthless ways became the center of attention in 2016 with a French satirical documentary that became an award-winning smash hit in no time. The story of Merci Patron! (meaning “Thanks Boss!”) focuses on a couple in northern France who are laid off when their jobs at an LVMH subcontractor are lost to a new factory in Poland. They then go after Arnault for revenge.
The film touched on globalization, inequality, and a David-versus-Goliath-like struggle between workers and employers, which resonated with French people. François Ruffin, the filmmaker and a left-wing lawmaker, told France 24upon the film’s release that it had a “liberating effect” on those who watched it.
Arnault was displeased with the documentary and allegedly assigned Bernard Squarcini, former head of France’s domestic security agency, the task of spying on Ruffin and his journal, Fakir.
Ruffin filed a lawsuit in 2019 claiming LVMH contracted Squarcini while his César Award–winning documentary was being filmed. That case, which includes charges of influence-peddling and misuse of public funds, is now being tried in court—and Arnault appeared in court last month as part of it.
The case has dragged the French billionaire into an unflattering spotlight, although he denied involvement.
“I was absolutely unaware of this,” the 75-year-old Arnault said in court.
When he was asked about the closure of a textile factory in northern France in 2007 in court, Arnault stopped Ruffin’s lawyer, saying: “You’re talking about a hundred or so jobs. Since then and now, I’ve created how many jobs? I said it before … 190,000. Does that work for you? Does that work for Mr. Ruffin? Or do we have to continue with this idiocy?”
It’s no secret that Arnault isn’t a fan of dissenting views. Earlier this year, he sent a memo to LVMH employees banning them from speaking to certain French media outlets, warning them that they’d face serious consequences if they did.
Both Arnault and Ruffin have tried to hold each other accountable for their actions: running a luxury empire in a capitalistic era and making a “rather funny” but adversarial film about a successful business.
Representatives at LVMH didn’t immediately return Fortune’s request for comment.
