15 of the richest people in the US$2.5 trillion fashion industry

Fashion is a US$2.5 trillion global industry that has made its leading players, from designers and CEOs to founders and heiresses, very rich. Business Insider has compiled a list of the richest people in the industry, based on Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires ranking – and the top 15 are worth a combined US$395.6 billion. The wealthiest person in fashion is Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH, the world’s largest maker of luxury goods which owns Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon, Christian Dior, and Tiffany & Co. Arnault is the world's third-richest person with an estimated net worth of US$105.7 billion. Others on the list include Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, the Japanese billionaire behind Uniqlo, and the Spanish retail mogul who owns Zara. Meet Tadashi Yanai, billionaire founder of Uniqlo Read on for the 15 richest people in fashion. 15. Ding Shizhong: US$5.8 billion Ding Shizhong is the chairman and CEO of Anta Sports, one of China’s largest sportswear makers. Anta Sports, which owns Fila, Descente and Kingkow, had revenue of more than US$3.4 billion in 2018. 14. Johann Rupert: US$6.1 billion Johann Rupert is the chairman of Compagnie Financiere Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods firm behind Cartier, Chloé and Montblanc. The South African billionaire founded Richemont as a spin-off of Rembrandt Group Limited (now Remgro), a company founded by his father in the forties. 13. Sandra Ortega Mera: US$6.6 billion Sandra Ortega Mera is the daughter of Zara founder Amancio Ortega and his late ex-wife, Rosalia Mera. She became Spain’s richest woman after her mother’s death. Ortega Mera holds a 4.5 per cent stake in her father’s company, Inditex, but is not involved in it, according to Forbes. New York Fashion Week: Gigi Hadid sparkles in Ralph Lauren show 12. Ralph Lauren: US$6.7 billion The founder and former CEO of the eponymous American luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren remains executive chairman of the label he started in the sixties. Lauren started designing neckties with a wider cut – branding them the “Polo” cut – and selling them in New York department stores while working at the men’s boutique Beau Brummell. More than 50 years later, the internationally renowned brand had revenue of more than US$6.1 billion in 2018. 11. Anders Holch Povlsen: US$8.1 billion Anders Holch Povlsen is the CEO and sole owner of Danish fashion retailer Bestseller. Povlsen’s parents started the company in 1975 and he was only 28 when his father, Troels Holch Povlsen, made him the sole owner in 1990. Bestseller is the parent company of 11 fashion labels that include Vero Moda, Only and Jack & Jones. Povlsen, who is the richest person in Denmark, also has “significant stakes” in online clothing retailer ASOS and payments company Klarna, according to Forbes. In April 2019, three of Povlsen’s four children were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka that left at least 290 people dead. 10. Giorgio Armani: US$11 billion The co-founder and sole owner of the Armani empire, Giorgio Armani’s luxury fashion house has ventures in haute couture, sportswear, beauty, restaurants, interior design, hotels and resorts, and ready-to-wear fashion. The Italian-born fashion designer founded his company in 1975 after leaving medical school early. Now, Armani is often dubbed one of the most successful Italian fashion designers in history, with revenue of US$2.3 billion in 2018, according to Bloomberg. Armani owns a 213-foot jet-black superyacht and has homes in Italy and the Caribbean. What are these 8 billionaire bosses in California really worth? 9. Heinrich Deichmann: US$11.5 billion Heinrich Deichmann is the CEO of international shoe manufacturer Deichmann, founded by his grandfather as a cobbler’s shop in Germany in 1913. Deichmann’s reputation for creating affordable footwear is ingrained in its history. The family company organised a second-hand shoe exchange scheme to help struggling customers after the war, according to the company’s website. Deichmann has become one of Europe’s leading shoe retailers, with 3,989 stores in Germany, the US, and Europe. 8. Alain and Gerard Wertheimer: US$16.6 billion Alain Wertheimer co-owns the French fashion house Chanel with his brother, Gerard. Alain serves as Chanel’s chairman while Gerard manages the company’s watch department in Switzerland. The Wertheimer brothers inherited the Chanel empire from their grandfather, Pierre Wertheimer, who founded the brand with Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel in 1913. The Wertheimers are known as “fashion’s quietest billionaires,” according to The New York Times. “We’re a very discreet family, we never talk,” Gérard Wertheimer told The New York Times Magazine in 2002. “It’s about Coco Chanel. It's about Karl [Lagerfeld]. It’s about everyone who works and creates at Chanel. It’s not about the Wertheimers.” 7. Stefan Persson: US$18.8 billion Chairman of bestselling fashion retailer H&M, Stefan Persson owns a 32 per cent stake in the company. His son, Karl-Johan Persson, is the company’s CEO. H&M Group, which also owns Weekday, COS and Monki, brought in more than US$22 billion in net sales in 2018, according to its annual report. The Swedish fast-fashion business has about 4,900 stores in 73 markets. Thailand’s 31 richest entrepreneurs revealed 6. Leonardo Del Vecchio: US$24.7 billion Leonardo Del Vecchio is the founder of eyewear giant Luxottica, which also owns Sunglass Hut, Ray-Ban and Oakley and makes glasses for Chanel and Bulgari, according to Forbes. Luxottica merged with French lens maker Essilor in 2018 to become the world’s largest producer and retailer of sunglasses and prescription glasses. 5. Tadashi Yanai: US$29.8 billion Tadashi Yanai is the founder and owner of Japanese clothing empire Fast Retailing, the largest clothing retailer in Asia and the parent company of Uniqlo. Yanai, the richest person in Japan, began his career at his father’s roadside tailor shop in suburban Japan, according to Bloomberg. Yanai later changed the name of the company to Fast Retailing in the early 1990s to reflect his fast-fashion business strategy. Yanai opened the first Uniqlo store in 1984 and has expanded the brand to more than 2,000 stores in at least 20 countries. Fast Retailing has thousands of stores worldwide and reported a yearly revenue of US$16.9 billion in August 2017, according to Bloomberg. 4. Francois Pinault: US$35.1 billion François Pinault is the founder and owner of Kering luxury group, which includes Gucci and Alexander McQueen. He’s been married to Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek since 2009. The French businessman and art collector also owns a plethora of auction houses, wineries, and French publications. He’s the second-richest person in France after Bernard Arnault. Pinault’s wealth has grown by more than US$9 billion in 2019, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. How Bill Gates overtook Jeff Bezos to become world’s richest man, again 3. Phil Knight: US$38.5 billion Phil Knight is the founder of shoe giant Nike. Knight, a former track runner, started the company that would become Nike with his college track coach, Bill Bowerman, in 1964. Knight retired as chairman of Nike in 2016 after 52 years, according to Forbes. 2. Amancio Ortega: US$70.7 billion Amancio Ortega is the sixth-richest person in the world, according to both Forbes and Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. Ortega made his US$70.7 billion fortune through the Spanish fashion retail group Inditex, which he founded with his ex-wife Rosalia Mera in 1975. Ortega owns 59 per cent of Inditex, the world’s largest clothing retailer that owns Zara, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius and other brands. How did Louis Vuitton’s Bernard Arnault make US$5 billion in 3 days? 1. Bernard Arnault: US$105.6 billion Bernard Arnault is the chairman and CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company. The French billionaire is the third-richest person in the world, trailing only Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. LVMH is the parent company of 75 household names, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Sephora, and Bulgari, and, as of November 2019, jewellery giant Tiffany & Co. Arnault’s fortune has grown by US$34.3 billion since the start of 2019, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter . This article originally appeared on Business Insider .