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 back-stabbing 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”—”thank you.”
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 the 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.
