You see the double-G logo everywhere. From rappers in Atlanta to CEOs in Zurich, Gucci is the ultimate signal of "I’ve made it." But if you’re looking for a Mr. Gucci sitting in a corner office in Florence, you’re about a hundred years too late. The family is gone. They haven’t owned the brand in decades. Honestly, the real story of who is owner of Gucci today is way more corporate, way more French, and significantly more cutthroat than most people realize.
Gucci is currently owned by Kering, a massive global luxury group based in Paris.
It’s not just a small investment firm. Kering is a titan. They own Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen too. But Gucci is their crown jewel. It’s the engine that drives their entire stock price. To understand how a family-run Italian leather shop became the property of a French billionaire named François-Henri Pinault, you have to look at the blood, the lawsuits, and the literal murder that cleared the way for the corporate takeover.
The end of the Gucci family era
Guccio Gucci started the whole thing in 1921. He was a porter at the Savoy Hotel in London, watching wealthy guests with their fancy luggage, and he thought, "I can do that better." He went home to Florence and did exactly that. For a while, it was a family affair. His sons—Aldo, Vasco, and Rodolfo—turned it into a global powerhouse.
Then things got messy.
By the 1980s, the family was basically at war. We’re talking about board meetings that ended in physical fights and cousins suing cousins for tax evasion. Maurizio Gucci, Rodolfo’s son, eventually managed to take control, but he wasn't exactly a business genius. He spent money faster than the company could make it. By 1993, the family was backed into a corner. They sold their remaining stakes to a Bahrain-based investment group called Investcorp.
That was it. The family was out.
The story turned dark in 1995 when Maurizio was assassinated on the steps of his office. His ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani (often called the "Black Widow"), was convicted of arranging the hit. If you saw the movie House of Gucci, you know the vibe. It was the definitive end of any family involvement in the brand. The question of who is owner of Gucci shifted from a surname to a balance sheet.
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Enter the French: The LVMH vs. Kering War
If you want to understand who really calls the shots now, you have to talk about the "War of the Handbags."
In the late 90s, Bernard Arnault—the richest man in the world and head of LVMH—tried to buy Gucci. He started buying shares quietly, trying a "creeping takeover." The management at Gucci, led by Domenico De Sole and designer Tom Ford, absolutely hated the idea. They didn't want to be just another brand in Arnault's massive portfolio.
They fought back. Hard.
Gucci’s leadership created an "Employee Stock Ownership Plan" to dilute Arnault's shares. They basically created new shares out of thin air to make Arnault's portion less valuable. It was a legal nightmare. Eventually, Gucci looked for a "White Knight"—a savior with deep pockets who would let them keep some independence.
That savior was François Pinault and his company, then called PPR (Pinault-Printemps-Redoute).
Pinault bought a 40% stake in Gucci in 1999, effectively blocking Arnault. By 2004, PPR owned almost the entire company. In 2013, the company rebranded itself as Kering, a name derived from the word "ker," which means "home" in the Breton language. So, when people ask who is owner of Gucci, the technical answer is Kering, but the power sits with the Pinault family.
François-Henri Pinault: The man behind the curtain
Today, the chairman and CEO of Kering is François-Henri Pinault. He’s the son of the founder and, interestingly, the husband of actress Salma Hayek.
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Pinault doesn't design the bags. He doesn't pick the leather. His job is to manage the "House." Under his leadership, Gucci went through a massive explosion in popularity during the Alessandro Michele era (roughly 2015-2022). Michele’s "geek chic" aesthetic made Gucci the hottest brand on the planet, doubling their revenue in just a few years.
Kering operates differently than its rival LVMH. While LVMH is about scale and owning everything from champagne to hotels, Kering is more focused on "pure luxury." They want to own the brands that define the culture. Right now, Gucci accounts for about half of Kering’s total revenue and about two-thirds of its operating profit.
That’s a huge amount of pressure. When Gucci slows down, Kering’s stock price tanks.
Because of this, Kering is currently in a state of "transformation." They recently replaced Michele with a new creative director, Sabato De Sarno. They’re trying to move away from the wild, maximalist look and back toward "quiet luxury"—the kind of stuff that ultra-rich people buy when they don't want to look like a walking billboard.
The structure of ownership
Kering is a publicly traded company on the Euronext Paris exchange (KER.PA). This means thousands of people technically own a tiny piece of Gucci through their 401ks or investment portfolios. However, the Groupe Artémis—the Pinault family's private investment vehicle—holds the majority of the voting rights.
They are the ones who decide who gets hired, who gets fired, and which direction the brand moves.
Why this matters for the consumer
You might wonder why it matters that a French conglomerate owns an Italian brand. Well, it changes the product. When Gucci was family-run, it was about heritage and craftsmanship, sure, but it was also chaotic. It almost went bankrupt twice.
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Under Kering, Gucci is a machine.
- Supply Chain: Kering has bought up tanneries and factories across Italy to ensure they control every step of production.
- Sustainability: Because they are a public company, they have massive ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) targets. They’ve gone fur-free and are pushing for "circular" fashion.
- Talent: Kering is known for taking risks on unknown designers. Nobody knew who Alessandro Michele was before he was promoted. That’s a corporate strategy to find fresh voices rather than hiring "superstar" designers.
What's next for Gucci's ownership?
There are always rumors. In the world of high finance, nothing is permanent. Occasionally, you’ll hear whispers that LVMH might try to buy Kering, or that a Swiss group like Richemont (which owns Cartier) might propose a "merger of equals."
But for now, the Pinault family isn't going anywhere. They’ve built an empire around Gucci. They are currently focusing on moving the brand "upmarket." This means fewer logo t-shirts and more $50,000 exotic skin handbags. They want to compete with Hermès.
The strategy is simple: sell fewer items at much higher prices to maintain exclusivity. It’s a risky move, but when you own the most famous brand in the world, you can afford to take risks.
Real world insights: How to track who is owner of Gucci
If you’re interested in the business side of fashion, don't just look at the runways. Look at the quarterly earnings reports from Kering. That’s where the real story is told.
- Check the "Organic Growth" numbers: This tells you if Gucci is actually popular or if they are just raising prices to fake growth.
- Follow the Pinault family's Artémis group: They recently bought a majority stake in CAA (Creative Artists Agency) in Hollywood. This shows that the owners of Gucci are trying to bridge the gap between fashion and entertainment even further.
- Watch the Creative Director: In a corporate-owned brand, the designer is an employee, not a founder. Their job is to hit sales targets. If Sabato De Sarno doesn't deliver a specific "lift" in sales by 2026, Kering will likely replace him.
The days of family drama and blood on the sidewalk are over. Gucci is now a jewel in a corporate crown, managed by one of the most powerful families in France. It’s less "Italian opera" and more "Global chess match" these days.
To keep tabs on this, you should bookmark the Kering investor relations page. It's surprisingly transparent. You can see exactly how much money Gucci makes in Asia versus North America, and it gives you a much clearer picture of why the brand looks the way it does in stores today. Ownership isn't just a name on a building; it's the strategy that dictates what you'll be wearing next season.
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