The CEO of LVMH is the world's richest person. His five children are already immersed in the luxury industry.
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| Bernard Arnault Family (Handelszeitung) |
According to Bloomberg, Bernard Arnault is the "world's richest person," with a net worth of roughly $201 billion (181 billion Swiss francs). He is just the third individual to have a wealth of more than $200 billion, behind tech titans Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, whose fortunes have subsequently collapsed.
Arnault co-founded LVMH in the 1980s and currently serves as its CEO and Chairman. Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Mot & Chandon, Fenty Beauty, and Tiffany & Co. are among the fashion, perfume, jewelry, watch, and alcohol businesses owned by the French luxury conglomerate.
Delphine Arnault, Arnault's daughter, took over as CEO of Dior in February. But Delphine isn't the only one who has progressed through the ranks at LVMH. Bernard's four sons are all employed with LVMH and its subsidiaries.
"Succession planning in strategic positions has been a key contributor to the success of key LVMH brands over the past 20 years," according to Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet.
Arnault, 74, has not remarked on who will follow him, although it is a topic that is brought up whenever one of his progeny is given a new role. LVMH lifted the age restriction for its CEO from 75 to 80 last year, potentially prolonging Arnault's term.
Luxury Arnault Dynasty
Dior's CEO: Arnault's eldest child and only daughter Delphine
Delphine, Bernard's first child and only daughter, was born in 1975. She began her career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company before joining designer John Galliano's studio.
Delphine was executive vice president of Christian Dior Couture from 2008 until 2013, followed by a decade as executive vice president of Louis Vuitton, LVMH's largest brand. She has been the CEO and Chairwoman of Dior since February 1.
Antoine Arnault is the CEO of LVMH's parent company
Bernard's eldest son, Antoine, was born in 1977. Antoine, like Delphine, was born to Bernard's first wife, Anne Dewavrin.
Antoine began his career at LVMH in the advertising department in 2005. He was hired communications director at Louis Vuitton just two years later, where he launched campaigns with popular celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Bono, Muhammad Ali, and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Antoine was named CEO of Christian Dior SE, the holding firm through which the family owns LVMH, in December. He is also the CEO of the shoe company Berluti and the non-executive chairman of the cashmere label Loro Piana.
Antoine was appointed to the LVMH Board of Directors in 2006 and has been the company's Head of Image and Environment since 2018.
Alexandre Arnault: Vice President at Tiffany & Co.
Alexandre Mercier, the first son of Bernard's second wife, Helene Mercier, was born in 1992 and is the Executive Vice President of Tiffany & Co.
Following internships at McKinsey and KKR in New York, Alexandre joined his father's retail enterprise, where he focused on digital technologies.
"I was obviously raised to be in the group," Alexandre told The New York Times in 2018, adding that he chose to work at LVMH after turning down offers from McKinsey and KKR.
Alexandre was CEO of German luggage manufacturer Rimowa for around four years after convincing his father to purchase an 80% ownership in the firm in 2016. During his tenure as CEO, he revitalized Rimowa and began collaborations with Supreme and Off-White, among others.
Alexandre became senior vice president of product and communications at Tiffany & Co. when LVMH purchased the jewelry company for $15.8 billion in 2020, at the age of 28.
In February, former President Donald Trump stated he had invited Alexandre and his wife to dinner at Mar-a-Lago. "He is a young man on the rise, the son of one of the great businessmen and leaders in Europe and around the world," Trump said of Arnault.
Frederic Arnault: The CEO of Tag Heuer
Frédéric moved fast through the ranks at LVMH after internships at Facebook and McKinsey, as well as a brief spell running a mobile payments start-up.
He joined the firm full-time in 2017 as temporary head of the Swiss watchmaker's linked technologies section. He was named Director of Strategy and Digital at TAG less than a year later. He was appointed CEO of the brand in 2020, at the age of 25.
According to the New York Times, the older Arnault had groomed Frédéric to head TAG Heuer from the start, but not without difficulty.
Stéphane Bianchi, who was CEO of TAG before Frédéric and was tasked with training his successor, told the newspaper that the two argued "everywhere" at first.
Frédéric has concentrated on linked timepieces throughout his tenure as CEO, organized the transition from wholesale to retail, expanded e-commerce sales, and forged a collaboration with Porsche.
Jean Arnault
Jean Arnault, Bernard's youngest son, joined LVMH after finishing his studies. He holds a master's degree in financial mathematics from MIT and another in mechanical engineering from Imperial College in London, according to the Financial Times. During his studies, he interned at Morgan Stanley and McLaren Racing, as well as a brief spell at a Louis Vuitton retail store in Paris, according to his LinkedIn page.
Jean joined Louis Vuitton's watch division as Marketing and Development Director in August 2021, just a few months after graduating from college. He is now the brand's director of the watch division.
Jean told the Financial Times that his older brother Frédéric's career at TAG Heuer ignited his interest in the industry. "We have a strong relationship, and he started talking to me about the new watches and all of the different things he was working on," Jean adds. "I was enthralled. And there was the genuine turning moment."
Jean told the New York Times in November that he still seeks advise from Frédéric on his work.