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Want to know what the rich are buying?  There are 10 top luxury brands worldwide with billions in sales annually and counting.  Did any of your favorite brands make the cut?

10. Yves Saint Laurent.

This was the first fashion house to launch a women’s ready to wear line in 1966 taking their business to the next level.  A men’s line soon followed in 1974. The Gucci group acquired Yves Saint Laurent in 1999.

9. Prada.

The next top luxury brand is Milan-based Prada. Prada started as a leather goods company in 1913 by Mario Prada.  In 1978 Miuccia, his granddaughter acquired the company and transformed the business into a fashion apparel company.  The Prada claim to fame is the signature Prada leather nylon handbag.

8. Ralph Lauren.

Ralph Lauren started off as a Brooks Brothers tie salesman.  Today, with 35 boutiques in the US, Lauren’s personal fortune is over $4.2 billion. Lauren has three collections Polo is the fast-fashion-fix line for the young metropolitan male; Black Label is a more upscale, edgier version of city dressing; and Purple Label is the ultimate deluxe line.

7. Giorgio Armani.

Giorgio Armani, 74, is the only shareholder, president and chief executive of this designer powerhouse. Armani specializes in everything luxury goods, from apparel, cosmetics and home interior products.  The brand has seven brand names under the company.  They are best known for menswear.

6. Versace.

Gianni Versace started the Milan based company in Milan in 1978. Gianni died in 1997 and his sister Donatella Versace stepped in as creative director. The company went public and is still entirely owned by the Versace family. The company is known for its flashy embellished style.

5. Christian Dior.

Founded in 1945, the company quickly made its mark with its signature fitted jacket with a nipped-in waist and full calf-length skirt. This French fashion house is run by John Galliano and is owned by the LVMH luxury goods group.

4. Louis Vuitton.

Louis Vuitton was founded in 1854 as a luggage retailer and is now a main division of the French holding company LVMH. The top luxury brand has one of the most notable monograms.  Marc Jacobs is its creative director.

2. Calvin Klein (tie).

Started in 1968, Calvin Klein and an investor started the company with a small line of men and women’s coats. Calvin Klein did not make it big time until he set off the designer jean crazy by putting his name on each pair’s back pocket.  Advertisements featured a 15-year-old Brooke Shields who famously said, “Nothing comes between me and my Calvin’s.”  The company was bought by Phillips Van Heusen in 2003.

2. Chanel.

No wonder this brand is tied for second place, as Chanel is one the biggest luxury brands in the world. The company started in 1909 by Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, and made her name by offering women no-nonsense, elegant, relaxed and functional clothes.  Today, the tweed Chanel suit with a nipped-at-the-waist cardigan jacket remains one of the most popular–and most copied–fashion staples.  In 1983 Karl Largerfeld stepped in and reinvigorated the brand with more sexiness.

1. Gucci.

Guccio Gucci founded the house of Gucci as a saddler shop in Florence in 1906. The company logo is one of the best known symbols in the luxury brand industry. The company started off selling leather bags to horsemen and progressed into luxury luggage as clients progressed. Today, with Frida Giannini at the creative helm, handbags with the interlocking double-G logo are among the company’s biggest money makers.