Luxury goods mogul Bernard Arnault is the world’s richest person.
Bernard Arnault’s fourth child has been named head of one of the family’s holding companies that control luxury giant LVMH.
Frédéric Arnault, a 29-year-old, was also appointed to the LVMH board alongside his brother Alexandre in April. Those additions mean four out of Arnault’s five children now sit on the LVMH board.
Arnault is currently the world’s richest person with a net worth of about $215 billion, according to estimates by Bloomberg. In 2023, he became only the third person to surpass the $200 billion mark, following tech moguls Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
Arnault cofounded LVMH in the 1980s and is its CEO and chair. The French luxury conglomerate owns a range of brands covering fashion, perfume, jewelry, watches, and alcohol, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Moët & Chandon, Fenty Beauty, and Tiffany & Co.
In February 2023, Arnault’s daughter, Delphine Arnault, became CEO of Dior. But it’s not just Delphine who has risen up LVMH’s ranks. All four of Bernard’s sons work at LVMH and its brands, too.
Bernard, 75, has not said who he wants to take over from him, but it’s a topic that gets discussed every time he gives one of his offspring a new role. In 2022 LVMH raised the age limit of its CEO from 75 to 80, extending Bernard’s possible tenure.
“The best person inside the family or outside the family should be one day my successor,” Bernard told The New York Times in September. “But it’s not something that I hope is a duel for the near future.”
Bernard has primed his children for leadership roles at the company since birth, though they say he never forced them to join LVMH. His offspring were sent to the best schools and as children would get quizzed on their math skills nearly every night, The Times reported.
“I didn’t want them to start going to big parties,” Bernard said of his children. “I made them work.”
The Arnault family has been compared to HBO series “Succession,” which sees the children of media mogul Logan Roy vying to take over as CEO.
“I know it’s disappointing for a lot of people,” Antoine Arnault, Bernard’s oldest son, told The Times, “but we actually get on well.”
Delphine and Antoine already sit on LVMH’s board, leaving only Jean — the youngest of the siblings — off the board.
