François-Henri Pinault

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: In 2005, when Pinault took over his family’s two-pillared business, PPR, the first thing he did was replace many of his father’s business associates, including Tom Ford, who was designing for Gucci. (Vogue editor Anna Wintour expressed her dismay over the ousting.) He also sold off Printemps, the chain that was the second P in PPR. Since then he’s been emphasizing star brands over star designers, a strategy that seems to be working: the company saw a 35 percent increase in net profit in 2007, and even the money-losing YSL label posted a 35 percent improvement (although it’s unclear when the label will be out of the red).

ACCESSORY: Timepieces. He owns more than 60.

MOGUL RELATIONS: The battle between LVMH and PPR continues. Pinault, 46, wasn’t a fan of Bernard Arnault’s plan to buy the French financial daily Les Echos, and was one of the 100-some businesspeople who signed a petition calling for the paper to maintain its editorial independence.

ALTER EGO: One of PPR’s fastest-growing business units, CFAO, isn’t a luxury label but rather a distribution business that sells diverse products such as cars and pharmaceuticals across Africa and Vietnam.