![\"Bernard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ffd4.jpg\")
Bernard Arnault – Reuterss<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s richest individual purchased roughly \u20ac100 million of stock on January 28, according to a Paris stock market filing. That came just after Arnault had unveiled 2025 results that disappointed investors and he delivered a downbeat outlook, hitting the share price and handing him his biggest single-day personal wealth loss in dollars of $15 billion. Filings show he\u2019s kept up the pace through holding companies, bringing total purchases through February 4 to some 757,000 shares, worth about \u20ac407 million.<\/p>\n
The latest spree follows a more sustained run of buying over eight months last year when Arnault also bought the dip. Unlike last year\u2019s purchases, Arnault telegraphed his intent this time around, saying he wasn\u2019t sure it would \u201cplease observers,\u201d amid the strong headwinds buffeting the luxury industry and wish to own more than 50% of the world\u2019s biggest high-end goods conglomerate that he built up over decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family group has about 50% of LVMH\u2019s capital and since now we\u2019re at the start of a new year, we\u2019re entitled to acquire a bit more,\u201d he said during the January 27 earnings presentation. \u201cThis year we\u2019ll cross the 50% threshold. So we\u2019ll own over 50% of the share capital. So we believe in what we do, and we\u2019re showing it in that way.\u201d A representative for the Arnault family didn\u2019t immediately respond to queries about the latest stock purchases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Arnault has long sought to tighten his control over LVMH, a company he\u2019s headed since 1989 and expanded largely through acquisitions into Europe\u2019s second-biggest firm, with a market value of about \u20ac268 billion. The 76-year-old engineer-by-training has also expanded his ownership strategy at the brand level, saying last month that LVMH spent \u20ac1 billion to raise its stake in upmarket cashmere specialist Loro Piana to 94% from 85%.<\/p>\n
The Arnault family owned 49% of the share capital and 64.8% of voting rights in LVMH at the end of 2024, according to the latest annual report. Given this already provides the billionaire ample margin of control over the company, it\u2019s still unclear why he wants to cross the 50% threshold.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be symbolic, a sort of cherry on the cake\u201d said Frederic Genevrier, an analyst at AlphaValue. \u201cIt\u2019s also a way to project an optimistic message.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The move has coincided with a decline in LVMH Moet Hennessy<\/a> Louis Vuitton<\/a> SE\u2019s value and Arnault\u2019s own fortune since a post-pandemic surge in demand for the company\u2019s designer bags and clothes, wines and beauty products waned amid rising economic uncertainty. His wealth is mostly derived from LVMH rather than diversification. \u00a0<\/p>\n Arnault has a net worth of $181 billion, down from a record $231 billion in March 2024, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Even though the father of five\u2019s fortune is greater than in 2022, when he reached the top of the ranking, subsequent gains among tech billionaires including Elon Musk and Larry Page have pushed him down to the No. 7 spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n