{"id":49362,"date":"2026-04-29T14:34:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/49362\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T14:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:34:19","slug":"lvmhs-bernard-arnault-is-the-king-of-luxury-but-who-is-next-to-the-throne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/49362\/","title":{"rendered":"LVMH\u2019s Bernard Arnault Is the King of Luxury, but Who Is Next to the Throne?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One afternoon in July, not long after being named the wealthiest man on the planet<\/a> by Forbes, Bernard Arnault, the head of the LVMH Mo\u00ebt Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury goods empire, took his place on a stage with a view of the Eiffel Tower before a packed crowd of French dignitaries and reporters.<\/p>\n

In the front row sat four of his five adult children \u2014 the fifth was watching from New York, where he is an executive at Tiffany & Company. Their father had raised all of them since they could walk to one day run the LVMH conglomerate.<\/p>\n

The occasion was Mr. Arnault\u2019s announcement that LVMH would provide 150 million euros (about $161 million) to sponsor the 2024 Paris Olympics. LVMH companies will play a starring role. Chaumet, a Paris jeweler whose clients once included Napoleon\u2019s wife Jos\u00e9phine<\/a>, will design the Olympic medals, and Mo\u00ebt Hennessy wines will flow in hospitality suites.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe partnership will help promote France throughout the world,\u201d Mr. Arnault declared. As television cameras zoomed in, his eldest son, Antoine, the head of communications and image for LVMH, uttered what could be a tagline for this huge company his father has built: \u201cFor a dream, there is no price.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a moment of public triumph for Mr. Arnault, a sign of how embedded in the fabric of France LVMH has become. Over more than 30 years, he has forged LVMH into the world\u2019s largest luxury group<\/a> and the most valuable company in France, with a presence in 81 countries. His brands \u2014 75 of them \u2014 are the stars of the luxury world, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Tiffany and Dom P\u00e9rignon Champagne. It has given him entree to prime ministers and presidents, and allowed him to amass a museum-worthy<\/a> art collection.<\/p>\n

But his success has brought challenges. In France, Mr. Arnault has become a lightning rod for anger over growing economic inequality. In April, 10 days after Forbes put him atop its annual list<\/a> of richest people, protesters stormed his office<\/a> in Paris during nationwide strikes over raising the retirement age. His effigy was burned as a symbol of capitalist evil.<\/p>\n

Mr. Arnault\u2019s five children were taught in France\u2019s best schools and raised to take leadership posts in the business, but his dream of keeping LVMH in the family may force him to elevate one above the rest.<\/p>\n

And in recent months LVMH\u2019s stock has taken a beating, down 19 percent since hitting a high in April. The company reported<\/a> a dip in U.S. sales in the second quarter, and the Chinese economy, a big source of LVMH\u2019s revenue, is faltering.<\/p>\n

The falling shares mean that Mr. Arnault (now worth about $195 billion, Forbes says) dropped to the second-richest person in the world in June, eclipsed by Elon Musk. This month, LVMH was replaced as Europe\u2019s most valuable company by Denmark\u2019s Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, the hugely popular drugs being used for weight loss.<\/p>\n

At 74, Mr. Arnault has been working to make sure his company \u2014 created by gobbling up many European luxury houses that had been weakened by bickering family owners \u2014 will stay firmly in his family\u2019s hands, safe from corporate raiders like himself. Last year, he persuaded the board to raise the mandatory retirement age for the chief executive and chairman to 80, from 75, and created a corporate structure that ensures the family\u2019s control of LVMH, locking in his children \u2014 each of whom has been named to highly visible positions within the company \u2014 as the chief decision makers.<\/p>\n

Mr. Arnault has broadened LVMH beyond extravagant playthings into the world of experiences, acquiring over 50 grand hotels and resorts. And with the Olympics deal,<\/a> he has extended his tentacles more deeply into the world of sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mr. Arnault\u2019s changes mean he doesn\u2019t have to retire next year as originally expected. That hasn\u2019t stopped speculation about whether he can ensure that his heirs \u2014 who dress in almost identical Dior navy suits (save for Delphine, his one daughter, who often wears Dior skirts) \u2014 avoid a \u201cSuccession\u201d<\/a>-like drama.<\/p>\n

The French media is full of headlines comparing the Arnaults to the Roys, the fictional family in the HBO series. There are TikTok videos explaining why the Arnaults are \u201cthe real<\/a> \u2018Succession\u2019 family<\/a>.\u201d The family hates this talk, and takes pains to play down parallels to the show.<\/p>\n

The eldest sibling is Delphine, 48, chairman and chief executive of Christian Dior Couture and a member of the LVMH executive committee and its board. Antoine, 46, is not only in charge of the group\u2019s image and sustainability efforts but chief executive of its men\u2019s wear brand Berluti, chairman of the Italian luxury house Loro Piana, chief executive of Christian Dior S.E. and a member of the LVMH board. Both are from Mr. Arnault\u2019s first marriage, to Anne Dewavrin. The youngest three are from Mr. Arnault\u2019s second marriage, to H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Mercier, a Canadian concert pianist: Alexandre, 31, is executive vice president of product and communications at Tiffany; Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric, 28, is chief executive of Tag Heuer; and Jean, 24, is Louis Vuitton\u2019s watch director.<\/p>\n

In a rare interview in LVMH\u2019s discreetly lavish headquarters in Paris \u2014 this article is the first for which Mr. Arnault and his children have agreed to talk on the record to an international newspaper \u2014 Mr. Arnault brushed off any comparison to television\u2019s Roys with a wave of his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not an obligation, nor inevitable, that a kid is my successor,\u201d he said, leaning back in a buttery leather chair at a round table in his private conference room. On one wall was a Picasso; on two others, Warhols. His son Antoine, in his role as image gatekeeper, sat across the table.<\/p>\n

Mr. Arnault was wearing a white shirt, a blue tie, a navy jacket and black slacks, though these days he\u2019s usually without a tie, Antoine said, part of a more casual uniform that has accompanied new efforts to engage with the outside world. The children have been instrumental in pushing their father to be more open about the conglomerate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best person inside the family or outside the family should be one day my successor,\u201d Mr. Arnault continued. \u201cBut it\u2019s not something that I hope is a duel for the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, legacy is clearly on Mr. Arnault\u2019s mind. He grew up in Roubaix, once a booming textile center in northern France, and watched family industrial dynasties collapse as children or grandchildren took their eyes off the business or squandered inheritances.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter one or two generations, it broke down because they had it too easy,\u201d he said. It was a mistake he vowed not to make with his own children. \u201cI didn\u2019t want them to start going to big parties,\u201d Mr. Arnault said. \u201cI made them work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business at the Dining Table<\/p>\n

Every month, the five siblings meet with their father over lunch on the top floor of LVMH\u2019s headquarters.<\/p>\n

For an hour and a half, they discuss business, including finances, the curve of the bracelet on a new \u20ac50,000 Vuitton watch, upcoming product introductions and the social media payoff of over-the-top events. For example, a Vuitton men\u2019s wear show by the brand\u2019s new designer, Pharrell Williams<\/a>, shut down Paris\u2019s Pont Neuf and attracted such names as Kim Kardashian and LeBron James, resulting in over 16 million YouTube hits.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake,\u201d Jean said. \u201cWe discuss things, but at the end, it\u2019s he who decides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid the bonhomie, the siblings say, Mr. Arnault is gauging how each of his children is measuring up.<\/p>\n

A graduate of France\u2019s elite \u00c9cole Polytechnique, Mr. Arnault honed his children\u2019s math skills nearly every night before dinnertime. Antoine recalled that getting anything less than a perfect grade on important exams \u201cwasn\u2019t acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jean jokes about having \u201c24 years of experience, because every lunch and dinner was always about work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian Rogers, a former chief digital officer at LVMH, said Alexandre had told him, \u201cMy business education started when I was 9, at the breakfast table.\u201d<\/p>\n

By age 10, Delphine was accompanying her father to Dior stores. He has made weekend inspections of LVMH properties in Paris with his children a routine for more than three decades. Alexandre said: \u201cI remember, age 7, thinking, \u2018Why is he doing this, and why is he asking the same question to the same salesperson, every Saturday of the year?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The father paired each of his children with a mentor as they entered the business, to teach them the brands and monitor their performance. Delphine and Antoine started in novice positions (Delphine sold Dior perfume at age 17) before ascending to the C-suite. The three youngest moved more quickly into senior roles, \u201cprobably because he feels time is running out and he needs to speed up the process of learning,\u201d said Pierre-Yves Roussel, a former chief of the LVMH fashion group and the current chief executive of Tory Burch.<\/p>\n

All of them understand that the family itself is now as much a brand as the brands they own, and have wasted no time making their presence known.<\/p>\n

In less than two years at Tiffany, Alexandre helped seal a deal with Beyonc\u00e9 and Jay-Z, creating a social media sensation. (In 2016, Alexandre persuaded his father to acquire Rimowa<\/a>, a German maker of aluminum suitcases, which was founded in 1898. He immediately set about making the utilitarian luggage company cool.) Delphine created the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, a high-profile talent competition. And Antoine has thrown wide the previously closed doors of many LVMH companies with a series of \u201copen days\u201d that invite the public inside factories and workshops.<\/p>\n

Their father never forced them to join LVMH, the children said. Even so, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric said, \u201che found a way to make me want to give my life to the family business like he did.\u201d (Children from both marriages grew up vacationing together, and were raised to play tennis and piano \u2014 their father\u2019s favorite pastimes.)<\/p>\n

The clan has gotten bigger after two glamorous marriages: Antoine to the model and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova, and Alexandre to G\u00e9raldine Guyot, who has an accessories brand, Destree, that is independent of LVMH. Delphine\u2019s partner is a digital entrepreneur and billionaire, Xavier Niel.<\/p>\n

When Alexandre wed Geraldine in Venice in 2021, guests included Beyonc\u00e9, Jay-Z and Roger Federer (who frequently plays tennis with Mr. Arnault). His three brothers were groomsmen. They share a family group chat, in which they swap baby pictures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it\u2019s disappointing for a lot of people,\u201d Antoine said, \u201cbut we actually get on well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The iPhone vs. Dom P\u00e9rignon<\/p>\n

Mr. Arnault was born into a construction company run by his father and founded by his grandfather, who took him to building sites when he was 7.<\/p>\n

When Mr. Arnault was 28, his father handed him the keys to the business. He refocused it on real estate, and soon after moved to New Rochelle, N.Y., to expand in an environment friendlier to entrepreneurs than socialist France.<\/p>\n

It was the era of the corporate raider, and Mr. Arnault soaked in the more aggressive approach to mergers and acquisitions. When he returned to Paris at 35, after a rather unsuccessful run developing condominiums in Palm Beach, Fla., he came back as a barbarian at the gate \u2014 and with a new idea: A New York cabdriver had told him that he didn\u2019t know the name of France\u2019s president, \u201cbut I know Dior!\u201d<\/p>\n

As it happened, the French government wanted to unload a bankrupt textile conglomerate that included Dior. Mr. Arnault bought it for 1 franc, fired 9,000 people and discarded everything except Dior, which he then used to help finance a brutal takeover of LVMH, a group recently formed from the luggage maker Louis Vuitton and the Mo\u00ebt Hennessy Champagne and cognac house.<\/p>\n

The battle for LVMH made his reputation. Enlisted by Henry Racamier<\/a>, one of LVMH\u2019s founders, to buy shares and prevent another group from gaining control, Mr. Arnault did as he was asked, but didn\u2019t stop. He ultimately turned the tables, seized control of LVMH and forced out Mr. Racamier, who said at the time, \u201cWe would like to find a modus vivendi, but it\u2019s hard with a person like that.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

His style sent shock waves through the clubby world of French business, where he became known as \u201cthe Wolf in Cashmere.\u201d It was the beginning of a three-decade spree of empire building. He pursued family-owned brands known for craftsmanship and style: Pucci, Fendi, Celine, Loro Piana. Some were happy to be bought out; some were not. Losses were rare: Gucci<\/a> and Herm\u00e8s<\/a> slipped through his fingers after ugly public battles.<\/p>\n

During Mr. Arnault\u2019s takeover of Tiffany<\/a> in 2020, as the pandemic hurt earnings, he was accused of enlisting the French government\u2019s help to delay the deal\u2019s closing, and in the end won a discount on the negotiated price. (At $16 billion, it remains the luxury sector\u2019s biggest deal.)<\/p>\n

He has expanded LVMH into luxury hospitality in recent years. LVMH\u2019s holdings include the Cipriani hotel in Venice, the Orient Express train and the \u201c21\u201d Club in New York. There are restaurants in flagship stores for Tiffany and Dior, and a new four-story Mo\u00ebt cocktail bar in Paris.<\/p>\n

Mr. Arnault\u2019s bets have usually paid off. Luxury, in all its forms, has been one of the most resilient investments on Wall Street in the last decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was always saying, \u2018The iPhone is great, but who knows if we will be using an iPhone in 10 years?\u2019\u201d Mr. Rogers, the former chief digital officer, said. \u201c\u2018Whereas I know people will continue to drink Dom P\u00e9rignon.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are like Henry Kissinger,\u201d Mr. Arnault said. \u201cWe are not there to agree or disagree on the political aspect of the country in which we are doing business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018They Need to Find a Type of Enemy\u2019<\/p>\n

Mr. Arnault insisted repeatedly during the interview that his main goal was not profits. \u201cIt\u2019s desirability,\u201d he said, \u201cand we must make sure that in 50 years we are still at the top.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDesirability,\u201d said Mr. Roussel, the former LVMH executive, is the most popular word at the company. But it highlights a potential problem, he said: \u201cA consumer waking up and saying, \u2018You know, I\u2019m buying this product, but there\u2019s someone making so much money out of it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it desirable that you\u2019re buying a product from someone who is the richest man in the world?\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentiment was not evident this summer when Mr. Arnault visited China, one of LVMH\u2019s most lucrative markets. The \u201crichest man\u201d headlines from months earlier earned him a rock star\u2019s welcome. In Shanghai and Chengdu, crowds followed him and vied for selfies. Mothers asked him to bless their babies.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike the pope. Can you believe that?\u201d he said. He was called, he said with a laugh, \u201cthe God of Fortune.\u201d<\/p>\n

But back home, where passion about social and financial inequality stretches back to the French Revolution, Mr. Arnault is a divisive figure: hailed by the business and political worlds for building France\u2019s biggest corporate titan, and reviled by others for his almost unimaginable wealth.<\/p>\n

For a family that tries to keep its fortune discreet, the \u201crichest man\u201d ranking this year still brings an unwelcome spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attention that you get when you\u2019re on the top of that list,\u201d Antoine said, \u201cyou can\u2019t really prepare for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In April, as France\u2019s raucous nationwide protests gathered steam over President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s bid to raise the retirement age two years to 64, demonstrators broke into the LVMH headquarters, lighting smoke bombs and denouncing Mr. Arnault as the embodiment of the ultrarich.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a symbol of what is wrong in this society!\u201d one shouted. Others carried signs showing Mr. Arnault as Mr. Monopoly in a top hat, with accusations that he evaded taxes, exploited workers and laid off thousands to build power and wealth.<\/p>\n

This month, when Mr. Arnault announced that the Arnault family would donate \u20ac10 million to Restos du Coeur, a food bank, critics said it was a drop in the bucket.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to find a type of enemy,\u201d Mr. Arnault said. \u201cFrance is not a country which is motivated by business success, unlike the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

When his friend Warren Buffett walks around Manhattan, Mr. Arnault added, \u201che\u2019s like a Beatle.\u201d But when Mr. Arnault visits his stores in France, \u201cI have to be careful,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t like this, but I need bodyguards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antoine has advised his father to push back, and these days Mr. Arnault stresses the company\u2019s economic contributions: hundreds of thousands of jobs created worldwide, \u20ac5.5 billion paid annually in French taxes, and vast sums for art and culture, energy sustainability, scientific research, sports and youths.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s Next?<\/p>\n

What no one debates is that Mr. Arnault understood, before almost anyone else, luxury\u2019s potential as a generator of profit \u2014 that creating beautiful things is about aspiration and belonging.<\/p>\n

The question now is who can keep desirability at the heart of LVMH in an age of protests and global economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Last year, Mr. Arnault tinkered with the corporate structure of his empire, concentrating decision-making with his five children. Each has a 20 percent stake, and they cannot sell their shares for 30 years without unanimous board approval.<\/p>\n

His heirs \u201chave been schooled by the best player in the world: All of them know the business,\u201d said Sidney Toledano, head of the LVMH fashion group and one of Mr. Arnault\u2019s longest-serving executives. \u201cAre they going to be the pilots? Maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the next chief executive is not named Arnault, the children say they are OK with that. After all, Alexandre said, \u201cthere\u2019s the risk that none of us is able to run the business as well as he has.\u201d<\/p>\n

The siblings are beginning to discuss how they can raise their own children with the same sense of duty that was instilled in them, Delphine said. Mr. Arnault has begun taking her elementary-school-age daughter on his weekend rounds of stores.<\/p>\n

But Alexandre added: \u201cBy the time they reach ages where they can have responsibilities, my father will still probably be C.E.O. of LVMH. He\u2019ll be 110 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n