Francois Pinault - Billionaire built the Kering empire from nothing

Speaking of the French elite, it is impossible not to mention Francois Pinault. This billionaire is the founder of Kering Group and the investment fund Artemis.

He is also one of the famous people in the world of art collectors. As of October 2019, Pinault's total assets are about 33.4 billion USD, ranking 27th in the world and 3rd richest in France. Even so, Pinault's reputation is also known for overcoming difficulties to get rich, despite difficulties and challenges.

Pinault could say to start with zero, no money, no degree or even a high school diploma. Born in 1936 in the West of France, the Pinault family specializes in cutting wood and selling it for money. Due to difficult circumstances, Francois Pinault had to help his family from a young age.

During the Nazi occupation of France, Pinault was known to bring food support to the British allied troops residing near his home area. One day, he was captured by the Germans and they brutally beat his father to force one of them to reveal the allied hideout. However, the Pinault father and son did not say a word. At this time Pinault was only 7 years old and he had already demonstrated the potential of a resilient businessman, ready to overcome any difficulties.

Pinault also briefly attended Saint Martin's School in Rennes, but he soon dropped out at the age of 16, but it was not because he hated studying but because of his poor background that Pinault was mocked by his friends, who despised his quality. Pinault's country accent. In addition, the difficult family life made Pinault decide to pause his studies to help his relatives.

A special thing during this time was Pinault's rationality when being ridiculed about his background and voice. Instead of shame, sadness or self-pity, Pinault turned those ridicule into a motivation to rise up, just like the 7-year-old boy who was forced to be questioned by the Nazis but still stubbornly resisted.

In 1956, Pinault joined the army, responded to the patriotic call that had been born since childhood, then returned to take over the family's timber business. When Pinault's father died, he sold the business to start a legendary life of investing in 1963.

After years of doing business and accumulating experience, Pinault was able to borrow money from banks and own assets to buy small timber trading companies, improve them, grow and continue to buy businesses. small about to go bankrupt. From there, Pinault founded the timber company "Établissements Pinault" in Rennes, France.

The secret of Pinault during this period was to continuously buy small businesses, restructure and diversify businesses to grow them into multi-industry conglomerates. This orientation of Pinault is quite successful because the world economy is gradually recovering after the war and many industries are still vacant.

In 1988, the company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and 2 years later moved into the retail sector. During this time, he conducted a series of mergers with acquisitions of retail companies. This was also the golden age of European retail, when a series of new products as well as technological developments attracted consumers. Moreover, since the end of World War II, people have accumulated a good amount of wealth and started spending again.

In 1994, the company became "Pinault Printemps Redoute" after acquiring the mail-order retailer La Redoute and Le Printemps - a large French department store chain. After several years in retail, Pinault's company shifted its focus to luxury goods. He bought a 42% stake in the fashion house Gucci for $ 3 billion, then bought the brands YSL, Boucheron, Balenciaga or Alexander McQueen. Even prestigious auction houses like Christie's have connections to Pinault.

In 2005, "Pinault Printemps Redoute" shortened its name to make it easier to call it PPR. Under the leadership and especially always keeping an eye on luxury fashion brands, the company continued to acquire many more brands and changed its name again, becoming the Kering luxury fashion group in 2013- the company mother of brands like Gucci or Alexander McQueen Last year, Kering sold off its stake in PUMA to become a pure luxury goods group.

It can be said that Pinaul is a visionary when he always sees the long-term direction of the market. His tenacity and agility helped him make the right decisions. However, it is impossible not to mention the motivation to get rich from the beginning when people mocked him as poor that helped him achieve the success he is today. As of 2018, Pinault's Kering group had sales of 13.66 billion euros, or 15.31 billion dollars, up 26.3% year-on-year.

Now, Franois Pinault's company continues to grow, especially as sales skyrocket for both Gucci and Balenciaga. In addition to other assets such as a winery in Bourdeaux and a cruise ship in Marseille, Pinault also owns the Château Latour vineyard, shares in the Vail Ski Resort in Colorado, and especially owns the arena. Christies world icon price from 2017.

Additionally, Pinault is considered one of the world's largest private art collectors and has over the years participated in numerous art events, both public and private. He travels around collecting historical works, as well as works by contemporary artists. Pinault owns the Palazzo Grassi art gallery located on the Venice canal (Italy), which welcomes art lovers from all over the world to enjoy by boat. His collection includes more than 3,000 works of art worth more than $1.2 billion. Currently, he is the second richest person in France, after Bernard Arnault, the owner of LVMH group and the 23rd richest person in the world.

In 1970, billionaire Franois Pinault married, his wife was Maryvonne Pinault. Recently, the couple also engaged in the luxury yacht business, buying the cruise ship Ponant at the will of his wife Maryvonne. Pinaults owns many properties in London (UK).

In 2013, he bought the Bel Air house from the late famous hairstylist Vidal Sassoon, and his wife Maryvonne personally selected the furniture. Despite being 83 years old, Pinault is still serving as the director of Artemis SA, a former president of Christies and honorary president of the fashion giant Kering.

It can be said that to achieve such success, Pinault needs an extremely tough and patient personality. Because he is not from the upper class, Pinault has to face many difficulties, from solving social relationships, seeking help to confronting families who are over his fortune. "A lot of things often don't go according to his wishes. But Pinault built his business from scratch, so he is also willing to do anything to succeed," a former Pinault director, who asked to remain anonymous, said. shall.

"Pinault is so good at making money that people are surprised. He has a great sixth sense when it comes to business opportunities, his timing is amazingly accurate. What's special is Pinault not afraid of anyone or anything. In France, there is no one who has built an empire of billions of dollars in assets from two empty hands and without the support of the family, but is not really good at it, "according to an expert. Bank analyst in France anonymously commented.

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