Inside Bernard Arnault’s private work lunches with his 5 kids: why the world’s richest man and billionaire CEO of LVMH has monthly strategy meetings with his ‘nepo baby’ would-be successors

Apr 23 , 2023

Head of French multinational corporation LVMH Bernard Arnault (centre) and his wife Hélène (second from right), surrounded by their children Frédéric, Delphine, Antoine and Alexandre during a ceremony marking Paris’ iconic department store La Samaritaine reopening after 16 years of closure in Paris, in June 2021. Photo: AFP

Bernard Arnault recently dethroned Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and SpaceX’s Elon Musk as the world’s richest man with his US$208 billion net worth, derived from his controlling stake in Dior

Insiders speculate that Delphine is likely to emerge as front runner among her siblings Frédéric, Antoine, Alexandre and Jean, with their family dynamic being compared to HBO’s hit series Succession

Bernard Arnault is the billionaire behind LVMH – and was recently crowned the world’s richest man.

He has five children who all work for different areas of the company, and he apparently communicates closely with them when it comes to business matters. He reportedly hosts a monthly private lunch with his five children to discuss strategy, per WSJ.

Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, speaks during a news conference to present the 2022 annual results of LVMH in Paris, France, on January 26. Photo: Reuters

The CEO of luxury behemoth LVMH reportedly holds the monthly lunch at the private dining room in the company’s global headquarters in Paris.

The purpose of the exactly 90-minute-long lunch is to drill his offspring on company strategy and manager performance across LVMH’s more than 70 brands – unnamed sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

Owner of LVMH luxury group Bernard Arnault, his wife Hélène Mercier-Arnault and their son, former CEO of Rimowa, Alexandre Arnault attend the Christian Dior show as part of the Paris Fashion Week womenswear spring/summer 2018, in September 2017, in Paris, France. Photo: Getty Images

There has been much speculation as to which sibling is in the best position to take over from 74-year-old Bernard in the future — a family dynamic that draws strong parallels to HBO smash hit Succession.

While all five children have roles across the LVMH brands, his eldest and only daughter, Delphine, was seen as the front runner by industry insiders after becoming CEO of Dior in January.

Chairman and chief executive of LVMH Bernard Arnault and then Louis Vuitton executive vice-president Delphine Arnault pose following the presentation of the group’s environmental “Life” programme (LVMH Initiatives For the Environment) at LVMH headquarters in Paris, in September 2019. Photo: AFP

However, Sidney Toledano, the CEO of LVMH’s fashion arm told The Journal that there is no guarantee that any of his children will succeed him.