The chairman and CEO of luxury group LVMH, Bernard Arnault, in Paris, on April 17, 2025. THIBAUD MORITZ / AFP
The accusation was considered serious enough that Bernard Arnault and his family were forced to break their silence. "LVMH and its shareholders firmly reiterate that they have never, at any point, diverted shares of Hermès International in any way or without anyone's knowledge, and that they do not hold any undisclosed shares," the luxury group owned by the Arnault family said in a statement on Wednesday, December 3.
LVMH's response came after French newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné revealed on Tuesday, December 2, statements made by Arnault's former wealth manager Eric Freymond to French judges in early July, in which he said he had sold 4.8 million Hermès shares to LVMH in 2008, after several other sales. For 30 years, Freymond has advised Nicolas Puech, one of the great-grandsons of Hermès's founder. Charged by French investigating judges, Freymond was found dead on July 23 in Switzerland, on railway tracks near his cabin in Gstaad.
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Hermès family edges out Bernard Arnault in new ranking of France's richest
