Bernard Arnault may now be the world’s richest man.
Meet his 5 ultrawealthy children vying to take over his LVMH empire in a real-life ‘Succession’ plot.
In order to allow Arnault to continue, the firm recently sought to increase the age requirement for a chief executive officer.
The premium conglomerate has been governed by Arnault for many years. His estimated $184.7 billion net wealth. Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Mot & Chandon, and TAG Heuer are all part of the LVMH group of companies.
As Fortune noted in March, shortly after Arnault turned 73, the CEO might utilise this time to consider which of his children will succeed him. It strongly resembles the HBO series Succession in terms of the ageing dad and his five children striving for control.
Meet the five successful offspring of Arnault who may one day lead LVMH.
Delphine Arnault:
The VP of Louis Vuitton is a 47-year-old French businesswoman. She studied at the London School of Economics and Lille’s EDHEC Business School.
According to the Financial Times, she started her career as a consultant at McKinsey in Paris, where she spent two years learning about strategy. In 2000, she helped build the brand while working for designer John Galliano’s company, gaining experience in the fashion industry.
She began her career at Christian Dior in the shoe division in 2001 and advanced to deputy managing director for the executive committee by 2013. She managed one of the label’s most prosperous periods during this time, directing the expansion of leather items, accessories, and communication tactics.
She later rose to the position of executive vice president of Louis Vuitton, where she is now responsible for managing all operations involving the company’s products. She manages with restraint and frequently visits stores when they are busiest.
The accomplished businesswoman also serves on the boards of Les Echos, Loewe, Pucci’s, Christian Dior, Celine, Château Cheval Blanc, 21st Century Fox, and Repossi. She has been a member of the M6 supervisory board since 2009, and she joined the Havas supervisory board in 2013.
Delphine also supports the LVMH Prize, which enables aspiring fashion designers to receive coaching from LVMH experts. She was also recognised as one of Fortune’s 40 under 40 in 2014.
Antoine Arnault
The head of communications and image at LVMH is Antoine, 45. In addition, he serves as Berluti’s CEO and the chairman of Loro Piana. The luxury shoe manufacturer Berluti became a menswear brand when the eldest son received his first chief executive position there.
When Arnault was 25 years old, he cofounded an online business and began working for LVMH’s marketing division. He later earned his MBA from Insead and returned to LVMH in 2005 to work in the advertising division.
He was appointed director of communications at Louis Vuitton two years later. In this capacity, he introduced the “core values” advertising campaigns that featured world-famous personalities including Muhammad Ali, Angelina Jolie, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Bono.
The public was welcomed to the LVMH ateliers in order to view the craftsmanship through the launch of Les Journées Particulières in 2011. This festival promotes LVMH brands to welcome visitors and is held in 14 different countries. After his father had acquired 80% of the cashmere shop two years later, he was named chairman of Loro Piana.
He assumed his present position at LVMH in 2018, and his responsibility is to oversee the legendary fashion house’s image. A year later, Arnault acquired a small part in Laperouse, a venerable Parisian eatery that had been purchased by a close acquaintance.
He serves on the LVMH board, just like his father, sister, and brother Delphine. He is married to Natalia Vodianova, a Russian model, and is an avid golfer, according the sources.
Alexandre Arnault
At the age of 30, Alexandre is the VP at Tiffany and speaks French, English, and German with ease.
He earned his Telecom ParisTech diploma and an École Polytechnique master’s degree in innovation. His digital expertise was instrumental in the fashion conglomerate’s e-commerce portal, 24 Sevres, being launched.
Following LVMH’s announcement that it would buy an 80% ownership in the company, he was named to oversee the manufacturer of high-end baggage bags, Rimowa, in 2017. After Samsonite acquired Tumi, Rimowa was the last premium luggage brand remaining on the market, making this acquisition crucial. The company had an impact on LVMH’s digital approach and partnerships like Supreme, Off-White, and Fendi.
He replaced his father in 2019 on the Carrefour board of directors, a French grocery business. Finally, he was hired by Tiffany & Co. as executive vice president of product and communications last year.
With his innovative and contemporary attitude, Alexandre has already begun to change things up in that capacity. According to the Wall Street Journal, CEO Anthony Ledru described him as a go-getter who makes things happen more quickly than later, 40% analysis and 60% gut feeling. He helped Jay-Z and Beyoncé agree to participate in the jewellery company’s “About Love” campaign, which included a Basquiat artwork in Tiffany blue.
He wed young designer Géraldine Guyot in 2021. Paris and Venice were the first cities to celebrate the union. Roger Federer, Pharrell Williams, the Carters, and Kanye West, who also performed, were present during the big event.
Frederic Arnault
The CEO of the upscale watch company TAG Heuer is Frederic, who is 27 years old. He attended ecole Polytechnique, where he also co-founded and eventually sold to BNP a mobile payments firm with a friend. After then, he worked full-time as the director of strategy and digital for TAG Heuer.
After his brother Alexandre, Frederic was the second-youngest Arnault to be appointed CEO of TAG Heuer when he was 25. He places a lot of emphasis on connected watches, which now account for 15% of all sales, but his main area of interest is e-commerce, which is expected to grow 329% in 2020. He was also responsible for TAG Heuer’s significant collaboration with Porsche.
He gained notoriety in 2020 when he teamed up with Ryan Gosling after taking over TAG Heuer. Because the actor had no social media presence and had never previously supported a product, the arrangement at first seemed strange. After a year and a half of discussions, though, Frédéric recognised a chance and ultimately agreed to a two-year contract with Ryan Gosling.
In the third quarter of last year, it posted watch and jewellery sector revenues of $7.1 billion.
The young businessman’s relationship with TAG Heuer began when he was 11 and his father gave him a TAG Heuer Aquaracer. The brand was acquired by his father in 1999, and it has since grown to be the most significant watch brand in the LVMH portfolio.
In addition to speaking English, Italian, and German with ease, Frederic is a multitalented individual who plays the piano and tennis.
Jean Arnault
Jean, who is 24 years old, is the marketing and development director for Louis Vuitton timepieces. In 2003, Louis Vuitton opened its watch manufacture.
The MIT Sloan School of Management and Imperial College London both awarded master’s degrees in mechanical engineering to the youngest Arnault. After hearing about what his brother Frédéric was doing at TAG Heuer, which piqued his interest in the field of watchmaking, he enrolled in the company’s watch institute.
The future is promising even if he has only recently entered the professional world.
Jean stated that he believes mechanical timepieces have enormous promise throughout the digital, networked era. His generation wants more strictly mechanical things as their lives become more technologically integrated.