Famous French Business People

When Bernard Arnault stepped into the world of fashion, he revitalized French couture and became known as the ‘Pope of Fashion’. Bestowed with France’s highest honor, Commander of the Legion of Honor, he was featured amongst the 100 most influential people in the world. He today heads the French conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the largest luxury-products company in the world. Mohed Altrad’s Montpellier-based Altrad group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of scaffolding and cement mixers. Interestingly, this Bedouin-born man’s journey to becoming a billionaire started on a modest note. From having no means to survive and no knowledge of French whatsoever, he rose to become a French business tycoon. Today, Altrad Group has more than 7000 employees and customers in more than 100 countries. In a man’s world, Patricia Barbizet not just survived but persistently sustained. A prominent figure in the French business conglomerates, she served as the CEO of Christie’s in 2014, thus becoming the first female CEO of the company. Since 1992, she has served as the Executive Director of Artemis and is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Groupe PPR and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Christie’s. These French business magnates have shown the world that France is no less when it comes to business. Know more about them and a lot of other French business people, their life, their ambitions, their works and their achievements.