World’s Billionaires Notable Investments Of Bernard Arnault

At the heart of the world’s second richest family is a prolific investor. Bernard Arnault was the richest person in the world when Forbes released its 2023 list of the World’s Billionaires in April. Here are some of his biggest backings.

Pachama

Aglaé Ventures invested in Pachama’s $5 million seed round in September 2020 and then again in its $55 million series B in May 2022. The tech company uses satellite imagery, remote sensing, and machine learning to measure and monitor the carbon stored in rainforests and ecosystems globally.

Slack

In April 2015, Arnault’s Agache participated in Slack’s $172.7 million Series E fundraising round. The productivity platform was acquired by CRM leader Salesforce in July 2021. As per Slack, the company has over 200,000 paid customers.

LVMH’s Bernard Arnault and family stand as one of the world’s wealthiest families, overseeing an empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora. Forbes estimates the 74-year-old’s fortune at $231 billion as of July 12, 2023. Arnault’s five children all work at LVMH. In July 2022, the billionaire proposed a reorganization of his holding company Agache to give them equal stakes.

Agache—formerly Groupe Arnault—including its 100%-owned subsidiary Financière Agache, forms the principal investment vehicle of Arnault. The Frenchman’s holding company Agache backs venture capital firm Aglaé Ventures, which primarily executes technologyfocused investments. In the first half of 2023, the venture capital firm backed seven companies.

Here’s a look into the notable companies backed by Paris-headquartered global investment platform Aglaé Ventures and Agache, according to Crunchbase.

Airbnb

In June 2015, Agache invested in Airbnb’s $1.5 billion Series E funding round. The peer-to-peer apartment rental platform had 6.6 million active global listings and $180 billion in all-time host earnings as of the end of December 2022. As per Dealroom, the group has now exited Airbnb.

Netflix

Among the streaming platform’s investors was Arnault’s holding company which led the $30.3 million Series D round for Netflix in July 1999. The backing made Arnault Netflix’s largest investor at that time just as the company was about to run out of money, according to a statement by Alex Morris, founder of TSOH Investment Research. The group has now exited Netflix.

SpaceX

In July 2017, Aglaé Ventures invested in the $351 million Series H round for SpaceX. In total, the spacecraft exploration company has executed 245 launches and 206 landings as of July 12, 2023.

Viagogo

In August 2006, the French holding company invested in viagogo’s $20 million Series B funding round. The entertainment booking platform claims to have nearly five million tickets on its network, with users in over 160 countries.