RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Bernard Arnault, the seemingly unflappable CEO of the world’s leading luxury company, has taken to social media to deny claims his family is locked in a Succession -style battle for control of his empire. The question of who will take over from 77-year-old Arnault (net worth $142 billion) atop LVMH naturally sparks intrigue: Arnault has five children , all of whom work in fashion houses owned by the business. Suggestions of a contest between Arnault’s children are nothing new. Still, the implication of something more sinister—that the family is embroiled in Machiavellian backstabbing and plotting—will seemingly no longer be tolerated: Arnault took to X to publish a letter contradicting reporting by French outlet Le Monde.
The post, written in French, was reposted by the LVMH X account and titled “Merci.”
Arnault’s rebuttal is sharp, claiming some individuals “are betting on the cracks in a family in order to sell newspapers.” Le Monde is the largest newspaper in France , according to press certification body Alliance pour les Chiffres de la Presse et des Médias.
Opening his letter, Arnault scoffs at the notion he is head of “the last royal family of France”—claiming his children WhatsApped him to ask if they had to bow. “They burst out laughing,” Arnault wrote.
Arnault’s letter continues in a similar vein. He scorned the implication that he has undue relationships with politicians, writing: “I should have stayed on Avenue Montaigne and spoken only to my dog.” Avenue Montaigne is a high-end street in Paris, home to luxury fashion houses.
Arnault said he has also met with various British prime ministers and U.S. presidents, as well as German chancellors and the emperor of Japan.
Arnault also dismisses suspicion that he has donated money to arts and culture to avoid taxes, but is most taciturn on the subject of his family: “I would have liked to find one nuance: the one that allows five strong personalities to work in the same company without it turning into an Italian opera.
“Among the Arnaults, apparently, one does not discuss—one plots; one does not deliberate—one competes. It is the stuff of novels.”
Le Monde reported that Delphine and Antoine, Arnault’s eldest children, are the object of jealousy among his younger sons from his second marriage: Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean. Feuds between Arnault’s wife, Hélène, and his older children were also reported, with all of the children pushing hard for their father’s approval.
At the time of writing, Delphine holds arguably the most prestigious role in the LVMH empire: CEO of Dior. Antoine’s role is future-focused: As director of image and environment, he oversees the brand’s communications and sustainable development initiatives. Alexandre is deputy CEO of drinks giant Moët Hennessy, Frédéric is CEO of Loro Piana, and Jean is a watch director at Louis Vuitton.
“In the real world, my children run Maisons, build teams, make decisions, and, sacrilege of sacrileges, call each other on Sundays,” Arnault counters. “What, in an ordinary family, is simply called a Sunday is, in our case, called an intrigue. It is a matter of vocabulary. We prefer Sundays.”
Ackman weighs in
Bill Ackman, CEO of investment giant Pershing Square, lauded Arnault’s response. Writing on X , he said the luxury kingpin’s letter was “worth a read.”
Ackman, who was previously listed as a minority investor in Elon Musk’s social media site X, claimed that the platform “has shifted the balance of power away from the media and back to the people.”
The entrepreneur, who recently spoke to Fortune about reviving Americans’ faith in capitalism, thanked Musk in the same response to Arnault.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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