8 of the richest fashion designers in the world – net worths, ranked: from US billionaires Ralph Lauren and Tom Ford, to Italy’s Miuccia Prada, Giorgio Armani and Valentino

Jan 9 , 2024

Valentino Garavani, Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren are all billionaires in the fashion world. Photos: AP, AFP, Getty Images

Tech bros aren’t the only ones rolling in billions – fashion’s biggest names are a wealthy lot, too. While dressing the world’s stars and dreaming up era-defining styles, plenty of fashion designers have achieved billionaire status during their expansive careers. Because what would the world be like without Armani, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino? A lot less fashionable, that’s for sure.

So who are some fashion designers with the biggest net worths, according to Forbes? Let’s take a look.

8. Valentino Garavani, 91

Estimated net worth: US$1.5 billion

Valentino Garavani has designed wedding dresses for the likes of Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and Jennifer Lopez. Photo: @realmrvalentino/Instagram

The founder of one of the most renowned fashion brands in the world, Italian designer Valentino Garavani has created everything from clothing and bags, to shoes, perfumes and accessories. After over four decades as an industry leader, designing wedding dresses for the likes of Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and Jennifer Lopez, Valentino announced his retirement in early 2008 after his final haute couture show in Paris.

These days, the designer and his former lover and associate Giancarlo Giammetti own an expansive property portfolio of homes and flats around the globe, per Vanity Fair, including in London’s Holland Park and Château de Wideville outside Paris. Celebrity Net Worth puts his net worth at US$1.5 billion.

7. Tom Ford, 62

Estimated net worth: US$2.2 billion

Tom Ford, formerly creative director of Gucci, founded his own brand in 2005. Photo: Handout

Fashion designer Tom Ford founded his brand Tom Ford International in 2005, but first he made a name for himself as the creative director of Gucci between 1994 and 2005, where he helped grow its revenue twelvefold to US$3 billion, per Forbes.

In November 2022, Ford sold his stake in Tom Ford International – along with his fragrance and cosmetics businesses – to Estée Lauder for an impressive USS$2.8 billion, taking his personal net worth to a whole new level.

5 and 6. Domenico Dolce, 65, and Stefano Gabbana, 61

Individual estimated net worths: US$2.6 billion

Fashion designers Stefano Gabbana (left) and Domenico Dolce in Milan, in June 2023. Photo: EPA.

After falling in love in a Milan nightclub, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce founded their Dolce & Gabbana label in 1985. Since then, the label’s extravagant styles and animal-print designs have become globally recognised, with the company now reportedly worth an estimated US$5.3 billion.

Despite calling their personal relationship quits in 2003, the former couple still share ownership of the company, and design for it together.

3 and 4. Miuccia Prada, 74 and Patrizio Bertelli, 77

Individual estimated net worths: US$4.2 billion

Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada in Venice, Italy. The couple has an estimated net worth of US$4.2 billion each. Photo: Getty Images

Italian billionaire businessman Patrizio Bertelli is the chairperson and former CEO of the Prada fashion empire alongside his wife Miuccia Prada, who inherited the business from her grandfather in 1977.

Prada, once the lead designer for the company, also founded and oversees the Miu Miu brand, which is a subsidiary of Prada. The fashion power couple took the company public in Hong Kong in 2011.

2. Ralph Lauren, 84

Estimated net worth: US$8.1 billion

Designer Ralph Lauren at the Ralph Lauren spring 2023 Fashion Experience in 2022, at The Huntington. Photo: AP

He may have stepped down from his position as CEO in 2015, but Ralph Lauren is still making a fortune as executive chairperson and chief creative officer of Ralph Lauren Corp, which includes fashion brands like Polo and, previously, Club Monaco under its umbrella. He’s also the largest shareholder of company, controlling 85 per cent of the voting rights, per Bloomberg.

1. Giorgio Armani, 89

Estimated net worth: US$13.4 billion

Italian stylist Giorgio Armani at Milan Fashion Week in January 2023. Photo: AFP

After co-founding fashion retailer Giorgio Armani SpA back in 1975, Armani has become one of the richest people in the world today, coming in at an impressive 135 at time of writing, per Forbes.

The Milan-based fashion retailer’s in-house distribution network has over 2,980 point of sales in 46 countries, per Bloomberg, with brands including Armani Exchange, Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani.

While most of Armani’s fortune is derived from his ownership of Giorgio Armani SpA, he expanded his bank balance by launching Armani Hotels & Resorts in 2005.

Millionaires and billionaires

Before Valentino Garavani retired in 2008, he designed wedding dresses for Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy, while Armani expanded into hotels in 2005
Tom Ford worked for Gucci before launching his own eponymous brand, and in 2022 sold his stake – along with that in his fragrance and cosmetics businesses – to Estée Lauder for USS$2.8 billion