Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and the world’s richest man, auditions his five children over lunches to choose a successor once a month inside a special dining room at the LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE headquarters. According to the Wall Street Journal, the lunch lasts 90 minutes and begins with the French billionaire reading the discussion subjects from his iPad. Mr. Arnault talks about strategies at his premium conglomerate.
According to the WSJ, Mr. Arnault then walks around the table and solicits input from his five adult children. According to the people, the 74-year-old billionaire is looking for feedback on specific managers at the company or whether it’s time for a change at one of LVMH’s many brands.
Bernard Arnault auditions his five children to see who will be the next owner of the luxury enterprise. However, the billionaire has made no hint of who he will select as his successor, merely stating that it will be based on merit.
According to the WSJ, these monthly meetings are part of a decades-long plan to prepare his offspring to take over the company when he is no longer there.
Mr. Arnaut surpassed Tesla CEO Elon Musk as the world’s wealthiest person late last year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. According to the index, his net worth was $208 billion on April 19.
Mr. Arnault owns around half of the vast luxury brand conglomerate. He purchased a majority share in LVMH in 1989. Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Tiffany, Sephora, TAG Heuer, and Dom Perignon champagne are among the brands in the company’s portfolio.
The world’s richest man has also appointed his offspring to prominent positions within the corporation. Delphine, his eldest child, was named head of the empire’s second-largest brand, Christian Dior. According to the publication, her brother Antoine was appointed to manage the holding corporation that handles LVMH and Mr. Arnault’s family riches. TAG Heuer’s CEO is Frederic Arnault, Tiffany’s executive is Alexandre Arnault, and Jean Arnault, the youngest of the Arnault siblings, is in charge of marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton’s watch department.
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