Do you also want to be broke, have so much dough that writing a super badass check to save Notre-Dame de Paris sounds like a small gift (almost 4 times the amount of the Telethon on its own )? To achieve this degree of excellence, Bernard Arnault's luck did not happen by itself, nor in a day. Back to the cascade of events where Bernard Arnault using trickery was able to ransack the Boussac group.
To go back to the origins of Bernard Arnault's fortune, we have to go much further back. One name: Marcel Boussac (1889-1980). Fallen into oblivion in history, he was the richest man in Europe 1 , like B. Arnault today. Big boss of French textiles, nicknamed the " king of cotton “, supplier of the French army during the war, collaborator when necessary, but also an ally of circumstance with the Resistance. Marcel Boussac is a boss as his time knew how to produce. Top hat, owning castles, stud farms and racehorses. The Boussac empire had at its peak up to 21,000 employees throughout France after the Second World War, including a small nugget named Christian Dior, who caused a stir in haute couture circles in 1947...
Reactionary, nationalist, fierce opponent of decolonization, owner of several media ( l'Aurore , Paris-Turf ), proud paternalist, autocratic, Boussac did not see the upheavals of the sixties coming and persisted in old-fashioned management. of his group. In 1962, Crédit Lyonnais asked Boussac for his personal guarantee. In short, his personal assets are at stake for any credit application or to cover losses. Over time, the losses increased: 50 million in 1976, 100 in 1977 and 160 announced for 1978.
Ruined, cornered by debt, Boussac was forced to sell his empire in 1978 to the Willot brothers. He dies two years later.
Here Come the Daltons [1978-1981]