Gucci's Humiliation... Founder Drops Out of Top 100 Wealthiest Rankings [News Figures]

Kering Group's Stock Plummets About 50% This Year
Pino Founder Falls Out of Top 100 Wealthiest for First Time in 12 Years

The deteriorating performance of Italian luxury brand Gucci has pushed the founder of the parent company Kering Group, Fran?ois Pinault, out of the top 100 richest people in the world for the first time in 12 years. Gucci's poor sales in its largest market, China, coupled with ineffective management reforms, caused its stock price to plummet by nearly 50% this year alone.

According to Bloomberg's billionaire index on the 24th (local time), Pinault's global ranking is 104th. He rose to 22nd place in August 2021 amid a luxury brand buying frenzy following the COVID-19 pandemic, but his asset size has since shrunk by two-thirds to $20.3 billion (approximately 28.4 trillion KRW).

AFP Yonhap News

Fran?ois Pinault, Chairman of Kering Group

Gucci's performance is shaking Pinault's wealth.

Pinault and his family hold 42% of Kering Group's shares and 59% of voting rights. Gucci accounts for two-thirds of Kering Group's revenue, making it a significant brand. Kering expects its annual operating profit this year to fall 46% from the previous year to 2.5 billion euros (approximately 3.7 trillion KRW), the lowest level in eight years. The biggest market, China, has seen a decline in demand across all sectors including clothing, wine, and cosmetics, causing a significant impact.

As a result, Kering Group's stock price has plummeted 47% since the beginning of this year. The stock price, which was 393.05 euros on January 2, dropped sharply to 208.45 euros on the 21st of this month. In response, Kering replaced Gucci's management last month and recently decided to replace the CEOs of other subsidiaries, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent, a month later. Currently, the group's leadership is held by his son, CEO Fran?ois-Henri Pinault, but the founder Pinault still exerts influence as the group's founder.

Born in 1936 and now 81 years old, Pinault is a French billionaire businessman and the founder of Kering Group and the investment holding company Artemis. He began building his wealth in the 1960s through the timber business and established the investment company Artemis in the early 1990s, acquiring champagne companies, luxury cruise companies, and football clubs in succession.

Starting with the purchase of shares in Gucci Group in 1999, he acquired the French jewelry company Boucheron in 2000, and Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen in 2001, building his own luxury empire. Pinault, who continued acquiring luxury brands, pushed for group integration in 2013, naming the group Kering and handing over leadership to his son. Since then, he has been an influential figure in the global art world.