Bernard Arnault
AGE: 58
OCCUPATION: CEO and Chairman of LVMH and Christian Dior
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 1
PRO: This emperor of fashion possesses an estimated $26 billion fortune and a big say about what people will consider chic in any given season. He controls the world's largest purveyor of luxury goods, LVMH, which peddles dozens of artfully positioned and globally coveted luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton and Hennessy. The Frenchman was one of the first fashion magnates to stress ecologically friendly practices in his businesses, since establishing in 1992 a department at LVMH dedicated to the environment.
CON: Arnault has not been above a ruthless tactic or two in his pursuit of fabulous riches; but he lost the epic battle to control Gucci to his archrival François Pinault whose luxury goods firm PPR is a constant, competitive threat to LVMH.