In many ways Mr Arnault, the first European to rise to the top of the world’s rich lists, is the epitome of how to do business in the old continent.
As his remarks to Jobs suggested, he thinks about the distant past and decades into the future, not just about next year’s profits.
He relishes craftsmanship, championing outré designers, perfumers and cellar masters, while often reserving for himself the last word on product details.
His own presence as a business titan is understated. Unlike Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, his most recent predecessors as the world’s richest people, he is not a household name—unless the household is a maison de couture, or palatial.
He is a regular on the Parisian fashion-show circuit, yet lets the clothes and those that wear them grab the spotlight.
He is soft-spoken but is no soft touch. As a writer on this newspaper put it back in 1989, he has “a charming smile but teeth, apparently, of steel”.
That reputation, which goes well with his lupine looks, is one he has never seemed to mind.
This is the second paragraph of an article "The sovereign of savoir-faire" in the December 2022 issue of "The Economist", with a total of 7 sentences.
1
epitome:model
continent:mainland
The first European to become the world's richest man, Mr. Arnault is in many ways a model for how to do business in the Old Continent.
2
Just like his advice to Jobs , he was thinking about the distant past and the next few decades, not just how much profit will be made next year.
3
relishes：desire; like
craftsmanship：craftsmanship
outré: heterogeneous
cellar: wine cellar
He loves craftsmanship and defends heterogeneous designers, perfumers and wine masters, while often retaining the final say on product details.
4
palatial: The palatial
himself is underrated as a business magnate. Unlike Elon Musk , Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates , his predecessor was the richest man in the world, but he was not a household name unless the family was a fashion designer or fashionably wealthy.
5
circuit: Tour
He is a regular at Paris fashion shows, but so far it is the clothes and the people wearing them that attract attention.
6
He is soft-spoken but never soft-hearted. As one of the paper's writers put it in 1989, he had "a charming smile but apparently teeth of steel."
7
This reputation matched his looks perfectly, but he never seemed to mind.
- Summary -
Vocabulary
epitome: paragon
continent: continent
relishes: desire; like
craftsmanship : craftsmanship
outré: heterogeneous
cellar: wine cellar
palatial: palatial
circuit: circuit
