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Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault, compared: the two richest people in the world are worth a combined US$400 billion – but how did the Amazon and LVMH founders get started, and make their millions?
STORYBusiness Insider
- Bezos, whose first job was at a McDonald’s in Miami, attended Princeton and then founded Amazon in a garage in 1994 – he briefly dethroned Microsoft’s Bill Gates as world’s richest person in 2017
- Meanwhile, Arnault’s LVMH conglomerate encompasses luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Dom Pérignon and more – and his 5 kids are all involved in the business, too
Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault are the world’s two richest people, with a combined net worth of around US$400 billion.
Arnault, the owner of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, is ranked first on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, with a net worth of US$202 billion. He’s the CEO and chair of the French luxury conglomerate with companies spanning fashion, jewellery, watches, perfume and alcohol, including brands Tiffany & Co and Dom Pérignon.
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Amazon founder Bezos is ranked second on the index, with a net worth of US$197 billion. Although both billionaires have built their own empires, how the pair acquired wealth is vastly different.
This is how they made their fortunes.
Jeff Bezos’ first job was at a McDonald’s
The billionaire said in a 2001 interview with Fast Company that his job at a McDonald’s restaurant in Miami was “really hard”.
“They wouldn’t let me anywhere near the customers. This was my acned-teenager stage. They were like, ‘Hmm, why don’t you work in the back?’” Bezos recalled.