top 5 richest fashion designers

As a designer, it isn’t easy to keep afloat these days. However there are a number of fashion designers who leveraged their designer genius and turned it into a multi-million dollar company.

Giorgio Armani
With an estimated fortune of 7.6 billion, Giorgo Armani is the world’s richest fashion designer. His men’s power suits were popularized by Miami Vice and the movie American Gigolo in the eighties and he acquired a large number of die-hard fans among Hollywood stars. Armani has expanded beyond clothes and now markets a home collection, publishes books and operates Armani hotels and restaurants.

Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is the quintessential example of the American dream. Born as Ralph Rueben Lifshitz into a poor family in the Bronx, he risked it all by taking out a $50,000 loan for his men’s tie collection. When his ties became popular, he expanded the Polo label with suits and home wear. He continued building his company to the Classic American Chic empire it is today. His personal fortune is currently estimated at 7 billion euros.

Miuccia Prada
Miuccia Prada took over her family’s luxury goods manufacture in the late seventies, and with the help of her husband turned it into the fashion house we know today. Miuccia is known as a perfectionist with an eye for detail and is currently worth some 4 billion euros.

Dolce & Gabbana
Despite huge fines imposed for tax fraud, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce are still worth 1.5 billion euros each today.

Valentino Garavani
Valentino has retired but is still one of the most popular Italian designers ever. And it has paid off because mister Valentino is said to be worth 1 billion euros.