When you think about entrepreneurs, businessmen, women, or people making lots of money with their ideas, we are sure you usually consider big figures like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk.
Well, we actually get it. They are everywhere, and it is hard not to associate entrepreneurship with these names. However, we want to expand that perspective here.
As we said, we know it is hard, but many other people aren’t only billionaires like the previous trees but also geniuses in more than technology and other aspects.
If you don’t believe us, just think about this entrepreneur: Giorgio Armani.
We are sure you are familiar with the name as one of the world’s most famous and successful luxury fashion brands. Still, more than a name for a big company, it belongs to the man that decided to initiate it before anything else and to whom we will dedicate the space he deserves as an entrepreneur.
Thus, look forward to our biography of Giorgio Armani and expect lots of good things (though, with some bad) from the life and success of this businessman and fashion figure.
Armani Childhood & Early Years
To know how someone got so successful and wealthy, it is only natural to start from the very beginning. This is why we won’t miss the most relevant parts of his early years.
Giorgio Armani was born in Piacenza, Italy, on July 11, 1934. His family was from humble ancestors and had to endure the hardships of World War II, which came with many repercussions in their lives, including Giorgio’s one.
Maria Raimondi, his mother, and Ugo Armani, his father, raised him with Sergio, his older brother, and his younger sister, Rosanna.
Following the previous fact of the hardships and difficulties, you can imagine that the life of the now billionaire was not as glamorous as it is nowadays. Yet, he has described his life as hard and simple, but still happy thanks to the final outcome.
Focusing on his school life, he attended secondary school at Milan’s Liceo Scientifico Leonardo Da Vinci and showed interest in anatomy from a young age.
He loved making dolls out of the mud and hiding a coffee bean inside them, which led him to study medical school for two years at the University of Piacenza. What people wouldn’t have expected is that this wasn’t what life had prepared for him.
He decided to stop after three years of studying and joined the army in 1953.
He was sent to Verona’s Military Hospital after his enlisting, where he saw many shows at Arena. This was his first encounter with what his passion is today.
Armani, who had served his country in the military, officially left university to become a window-dresser at La Rinascente Milan. This Milan department store was quite famous and continues to operate to this date, so you might want to check it out if you are close.
In it, Armani was a salesman in the menswear department, and this experience helped him to gain marketing knowledge that would be valuable for his future jobs and store.
After all, he then became a designer at Nino Cerruti and was just moving forward with his new dream in the fashion world.
His journey through this world, and the experiences he was getting by working in many departments, led him to Sergio Galeotti, to whom he became a close friend and then romantic partner.
After meeting him, Armani was encouraged and motivated to start working during this period as a freelance designer with a lot of talent, which turned out to be one of his best decisions since that led him to work for brands such as Allegri, Hilton, Montedoro, and Tendresse.
Also, Armani was invited to take part in a runway display at Sala Bianca in the Pitti Palace in Florence and has received international attention since this day, which would also mark a new opportunity for his career.
Turning into the Face of Fashion: Founding Armani
Going back to Galeotti and how he has influenced Armani’s life, they decided to become business partners in 1975, which finally leads us to the reason of this great designer to be an entrepreneur: Founding his own fashion brand, Giorgio Armani S.p.A.
The decision of founding the company came from many derivations since Armani didn’t want to continue working as a freelance and have his designs in other fashion houses.
As a result, they launched some pieces of men’s and women’s clothing the same year they became partners and founded the brand, and were able to launch the first men’s collection the next year.
This collection was for the Spring season in 1976 and came along with a women’s line to continue the entire theme and opportunity to release new options to the market.
Going back to 1975 for a second, we need to mention the reception of the clothes was quite impressive, which only encouraged the business partners to aim for the next full collections.
But what made the clothes boom so fast? They were very innovative, comfortable, and had a natural fit both men and women loved.
This is how Armani quickly developed a special relationship with the fashion industry through his innovative designs and how people continued to look forward to more of his collections.
Now, was it possible for him to maintain this popularity? You bet!
He launched his main clothing line for men and women in 1979, after his success throughout the years and the brand’s growth.
By the time, Armani was already aiming for different audiences and countries, not only Italians around the world. However, his first collections weren’t that popular in the USA, which was the main market for fashion at the time.
However, Americans loved the clothes after seeing TV celebrities wearing them in 1980, and the pieces soon started booming.
Thanks to this result in the USA, The brand was a big success and able to expand to other markets to the point of joining hands with L’Oreal and signing an agreement in the 1980s to make fragrances.
The 1990s only represent Armani’s successful career as the luxury brand continued to remain strong among all its competitors. Since then, it has been one of the top fashion brands for different occasions for both celebrities and every person who wants to get dressed with a piece or two.
The brand’s success has been so great that it now offers Armani Junior, Armani Jeans, and Emporio Armani collections.
The latter had its inception in Milan, where a new Giorgio Armani boutique was opened as well.
One of the keys points for Armani to be so famous lies in how he used celebrities after the result in the 80s to promote his clothes and bring more visibility and sales to the company.
This is why the stars of Hollywood soon wore the brand on the red carpet. And continues to be a favorite for many of them.
Finally, the founded didn’t stop with the fashion industry. Over the years, he expanded the brand’s reach to include restaurants and hotels and now owns an empire in both niches.
If you haven’t tried to at least visit one, we suggest you do it now.
Earnings & Sales: Is Armani a Billionaire?
We believe we gave you a spoiler for this initially, so it isn’t that much of a secret answering this question now, which is why we will keep it simple: He is.
Armani is one of the few fashion designers that started over three decades ago in the business and continues to amass a great fortune with the company he founded only.
Keep in mind that although he has chosen to take part in other business ventures, they all take part in Giorgio Armani S.p.A business since the name follows the same fashion brand and is more of an empire than a specific part of the company.
In fact, more than restaurants and hotels, he has expanded into interior design and real estate as well, adding more billions to his net worth.
Talking about net worth, how much does he have now? $7.7 fashionable billions.
Since his business surges in 1980, the designer has gone through some tough times but never fell in terms of success and how well he manages the company even to this date.
He has been the CEO since it was founded, and while being 87 years old, he hasn’t mentioned any plans of changing that anytime soon unless circumstances force him to.
Now, breaking down his earnings, everything comes from his Armani brand, and there aren’t many details of the specific income from each label.
Armani Collzioni, Emporio Armani, Armni Jeans, Armani Casa, Armani Fiori, and many more. All of them represent the $7.7 billion he has.
Social Impact: Helping Who Need It the Most
Besides being a great businessman and genius designer, Armani has contributed to the world in many ways, including charities and responsibilities with the environment.
He is known for contributing to charities like American Foundation for AIDS Research and Global Fund, to which he donates frequently.
He is also a member of UNICEF as an ambassador, and charities like UNHCR, Whatever It Takes, and (RED) also have his support for their causes.
Most of these foundations focus on human resources and helping children and adults have a better life, education, and providing basic resources.
However, what about environmental responsibility?
Giorgio Armani, the entire empire, is known as the luxury brand with the lowest sustainability score since they avoid carbon emissions and don’t focus on labor conditions in low-wage countries.
The company, in fact, has a social responsibility section on its website and provides an explanation of why sustainability is so important for them.
Armani and his brand often encourage green activities, help with COVID-19 and medical emergencies.
There isn’t a specific report of how much Giorgio has donated from his company and personal funds to this date, but many suggest it has been about $1 billion or more.
Armani Only Encourages Following Your Dreams
For people to feel motivated to learn, work, or do something that they have been struggling with or have been wanting for a lot of time, they look for positive examples of people who have had success with what they do and bet on.
Armani is one of the most outstanding examples for something simple: He set his mind on fashion after his experiences in the Arena and never stopped pursuing them.
You need to have his set of mind and find people who can support you if possible.
We are here to tell you that if you have dreams and also want to find a new business opportunity to make money all at once, you should bet on your ideas and what you want!
We could continue to talk about him and encouraging you a bit more. However, how we believe we have given you enough reasons to look up to him and start your business venture.
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The good part of this is that you don’t require an office or talent, and you can mix it with your future plans and finance them as well.
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