On the evening of 24 September, French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault took a seat at one of the world’s most influential tables, alongside US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the leaders of the technology world, including Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, and Sundar Pichai.
Arnault, whose name has become synonymous with opulence and prestigious brands, was exchanging ideas and conversation with the world’s most powerful people. In terms of wealth, he was no anomaly: there are only ten richer people in the world. Still, his presence was striking, as was the fact that he needed no introduction. For more than four decades, he has transformed brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior into global assets, while most of his dining companions built their fortunes from the digital world.
He was not born into the world of luxury goods and fashion. In fact, he graduated as an engineer from France’s École Polytechnique, then joined his family’s construction company, Ferret-Savinel, in 1971. Within three years, he was construction director. Three years later, he became managing director. In 1978, he became chairman and chief executive. The man best known for champagne and handbags cut his teeth in construction.
From property to luxury
In 1981, Arnault moved to the United States, where he stayed in property development. He returned to France in 1984 to reorganise Financière Agache, the French investment holding company. It is from here that he moved from property into luxury brands, with Christian Dior becoming the cornerstone of the empire he would build after he and several other investors bought Boussac, which owned the famous fashion house.
Arnault quickly restructured it, selling most of its industrial assets but retaining Dior and the Le Bon Marché department store. He felt that luxury brands were the most valuable assets in the company, so he began building a different model: a group that did not absorb its brands into a single entity but rather allowed each one to retain its own identity and heritage while using the backing of a vast conglomerate in terms of capital, expertise, and distribution networks.
This was the bedrock of LVMH, formed in 1987 through the merger of Louis Vuitton (a fashion house) and Moët Hennessy (a wines and spirits division which was itself formed by a merger of champagne producer Moët & Chandon and cognac maker Hennessy). Today, alongside the brands already mentioned, the group’s portfolio includes names that have come to define the world of luxury, including Fendi, Celine, and Loewe in fashion; Tiffany & Co., Bulgari and TAG Heuer in watches and jewellery; Dom Pérignon in wines and spirits; and Guerlain in perfumes and cosmetics, alongside Sephora (beauty), Belmond (hotels), and others.
By the end of 2025, this ecosystem comprised 75 ‘houses,’ generated more than €80bn in revenue, and employed 211,000 people worldwide, with 6,280 stores. Arnault has been at the helm since 1989, acquiring brands and building their value into an empire that bears his imprint. But age catches up to us all, and it will soon be time to pass the baton to the next generation. Can this be done without losing the winning formula?
No easy handover
Identifying Arnault’s successor is becoming increasingly important. He has five children, all of whom hold positions within the group, yet he has not named an heir. Earlier this year, his son Antoine Arnault joined the executive committee, while his sister, Delphine, leads Christian Dior Couture. Alexandre and Frédéric sit on the board of directors, while Jean holds roles in the watches division.
