The Big Money Behind the Big Brands – Fashion’s Richest 2025
Bernard Arnault – LVMH
Bernard Arnault is chairman and CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods group. The company owns an extensive portfolio of over 75 brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Celine, Fendi, and Loewe, covering fashion, jewellery, cosmetics, and wines & spirits.
Arnault has built LVMH into a global leader through strategic acquisitions and careful brand management, maintaining each label’s heritage while expanding its international reach. With an estimated net worth of more than $145 billion in 2025, he is the wealthiest figure in the fashion industry and one of the richest people in the world.
Amancio Ortega – Inditex
Amancio Ortega is the second richest figure in the fashion industry, with an estimated net worth of $124 billion. He is the founder of Inditex, a Spanish multinational and the world’s largest fashion retailer.
Inditex operates a portfolio of well-known brands including Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, and Stradivarius, with thousands of stores across more than 200 markets. Ortega pioneered the fast-fashion model, shortening production cycles to bring new styles from design to shop floor in a matter of weeks – a strategy that transformed global retail and redefined how consumers shop for clothes.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers – L’Oréal
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, heiress to the L’Oréal fortune, has an estimated net worth of $81 billion. While L’Oréal is best known as the world’s largest cosmetics company, its influence extends into luxury fragrances and fashion-adjacent beauty brands. Meyers chairs the family holding company and plays an active role in guiding its long-term strategy, balancing the brand’s heritage with global expansion.
Tadashi Yanai – Fast Retailing
Tadashi Yanai, founder and president of Fast Retailing, has a net worth of around $45 billion. The Japanese retail giant is best known for Uniqlo, as well as other brands like GU, Theory, and Helmut Lang. Yanai’s focus on high-quality basics, efficient supply chains, and global expansion has made Uniqlo a household name and a serious competitor to both luxury and fast-fashion brands worldwide.
Alain & Gérard Wertheimer – Chanel
Brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer jointly own Chanel, the French fashion house founded by Coco Chanel. With an estimated combined net worth of $40 billion, they have kept the brand private and tightly controlled, focusing on exclusivity and heritage. Under their stewardship, Chanel has maintained its position as one of the most recognizable and respected names in luxury fashion, spanning haute couture, fragrance, jewellery, and accessories.