François Pinault is honorary chairman of luxury group Kering, which owns fashion brands Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Gucci. Pinault founded Kering, which started as a wood and building materials company, in 1963. In 1999, Pinault changed the direction of the business toward luxury goods when he bought a controlling stake in Gucci Group. Today the $20 billion (2021 sales) company, which also owns watch brand Girard-Perregaux, is run by Pinault's son, François-Henri. Pinault and his family own iconic auction house Christie's, plus a 3,000-piece art collection with works by Picasso, Mondrian and Koons. The Pinault Collection is on display in the 18th-century Bourse de Commerce building in Paris, which he helped restore.