Hennessy was founded in 1765 by Irishman Richard Hennessy, Captain in the French Army. It took Hennessy just a few years to dominate the market and actually they have never lost their leading position since. Hennessy was the first producer which came with a Extra Old (XO) and they also invented the star-ranking system.

In 1971 Hennessy merched with Mot et Chandon forming Mot-Hennessy. After their 1987 merger with Louis Vuton the newly formed company LVMH became one of the largest conglomerates in luxury products. One year later, in 1988, Bernard Arnault purchased a share of LVMH and eventually became the new owner of Hennessy, still worlds largest producer of Cognac.