Giorgio Armani is one of the richest people in the fashion industry, with a net worth of $8.8 billion.
Source: Forbes
Armani was born in the northern Italian town of Piacenza in 1934 and later attended medical school at Piacenza University for two years before leaving for his military service.
Source: Bloomberg
While on leave from the military, Armani got a job as a window dresser at Milan department store La Rinoscente, where he worked up to a buyer position, marking his first foray into fashion.
Source: Bloomberg
In 1965, Armani started working as a designer at fashion house Nino Cerruti, where he met Sergio Galeotti, who would later be his business partner.
Source: Bloomberg
Armani started Giorgio Armani S.p.A. with Galeotti in 1975, with Armani focusing on the creative side and Galeotti handling the business aspects.
Source: Bloomberg
The company expanded to the US in 1979 and gained global attention for designing Richard Gere's clothing in his 1980 film "American Gigolo."
Source: Bloomberg
Despite the death of his partner in 1985, Armani continued to expand the business in the 80s and 90s, introducing new brands including Emporio Armani.
Source: Bloomberg
"I was the first to soften the image of men, and harden the image of women," Armani once said of his brand.
Source: Brittanica
"I dressed men in women's fabrics, and stole from men what women wanted and needed — the power suit," he said.
Source: Brittanica
He launched Armani Hotels & Resorts in 2005, which operates luxury hotels in Dubai and Milan, Italy. In 2016, the Dubai location was named the most luxurious hotel in the world.
Armani Hotel Dubai is located in the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
Source: Guinness World Records
The Armani Hotel includes a spa, a nightclub, three restaurants, and Armani retail stores.
Source: Armani Hotel Dubai
The hotel also hosts swanky fashion events, including the gala for the Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience in 2015.
Source: Armani Hotel Dubai
The hotel's nightclub, Armani/Privé, is a stylish hotspot that stays open until 3:00 a.m. and "embodies the essence of the Armani brand," according to the website.
Source: Armani Hotel Dubai
The cheapest rooms available to book at the hotel for November 2018 were $680.
Source: Armani Hotel Dubai
Models, actors, and other celebrities attended the opening party, including Isabelle Huppert, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jessica Alba.
Armani operates restaurants around the world, including Armani/Ristorante on New York City's 5th Avenue.
Armani's empire extends to cafés in Cannes, France, Doha, Qatar, and other locations.
Source: Armani Caffé Cannes
Armani’s design skills extend to vehicles as well. In 2003, he collaborated with Mercedes-Benz to design a sleek sports car, the Mercedes-Benz CLK. Only 100 of the cars were sold.
Source: Daimler AG
Armani sometimes travels via his private jet, on which George Clooney and David and Victoria Beckham reportedly once got a ride from LA to New York for the 2008 Met Gala.
Source: Celebs Now
In March 2005, he traveled to Japan to attend a preview of the Giorgio Armani exhibition that displayed 30 years of his work, including original sketches and costumes.
Source: Getty Images
Armani has hundreds of stores all over the world as of 2018, from Italy to the US to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, and Morocco.
Source: Armani
Armani spends part of his $8.8 billion fortune on private residences around the world, from Italy to Saint Tropez, France, to the Caribbean island of Antigua.
One of Armani's homes sit on the little-known Italian island of Pantelleria.
Source: Condé Nast Traveler
Armani's Pantelleria estate, called Cala Gadir, includes seven houses with outdoor terraces, a pool, and a staff of 12 when he stays there.
Source: Condé Nast Traveler
He bought the property on the northeast coast in 1979, three years after his first visit.
Source: Condé Nast Traveler
Armani reportedly spends six weeks each summer with friends sailing his yacht from Saint Tropez around Mediterranean islands that include Ibiza, Formentera, and Sardinia, and then ending up at Pantelleria.
Source: Conde Nast Traveler
Armani's jet-black 213-foot superyacht is called Main, built by Italian company Codecasa.
Source: Super Yacht Fan
Armani also has a home on the Caribbean island of Antigua. The house perches on a cliff overlooking Galley Bay on the west coast of the island.
Source: Architectural Digest
Armani certainly seems to enjoy sunny islands. He's reportedly a regular visitor to the Greek island of Patmos, which draws VIPs from all over the world because of its peacefulness, according to CNN.
Source: CNN
Another Italian locale where Armani spends much of his time is, of course, the country's fashion capital of Milan.
Source: Gourmet Traveler
"I arrived with my family from Piacenza in the aftermath of World War II," Armani told Gourmet Traveler. "I studied here, made friends, started working. I built my life here... Today I feel completely Milanese. I love the city very dearly."
Source: Gourmet Traveler
In September 2018, Armani held his Milan fashion show in an airport hangar.
Source: The New York Times
Thanks to his legendary status in fashion, Armani often rubs shoulders with celebrities and the elites of Hollywood, the fashion world, and sports.
He walked the red carpet with actress Julia Roberts at the Met Gala in New York City in 2008.
Source: Vogue
In honor of the 40th anniversary of Armani's fashion house, Scorsese wrote a "love letter" to Armani in Vanity Fair, calling him "my old friend, whom I love and admire."
Source: Vanity Fair
Armani has even mingled with world leaders. Then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy presented the fashion designer with the Legion of Honor in 2008.
Source: Reuters
Armani said in 2015 that he had no plans to retire, saying he would continue to be the sole shareholder of his company while he is alive.
Source: Business of Fashion
In 2016, however, Armani created a foundation in his name to safeguard his company's future.
Source: Reuters
In 2017, he discussed what a successor to his empire might look like in an interview on Italian TV.
Source: Reuters
"I have several little heirs," Armani said in the interview, referring to his two nieces, his nephew, and his long-time assistant Pantaleo Dell’Orco. "(These are) people who could do good things following up on my path."
Source: Reuters
Yet, Armani has not definitively said who might replace him if he were ever to retire.
Source: Reuters