Alexandre Arnault, son of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, the fifth-richest person in the world as of Thursday, was named deputy chief executive of the company’s Moët Hennessy brand, a move following his four-year stint revamping the Tiffany & Co. brand that positions him as a contender to succeed his father as LVMH head.
Alexandre Arnault previously led Tiffany & Co. for four years. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images ... [+]
Arnault, 32, announced in a social media post he would head to LVMH’s wine and spirits division, becoming the first of Bernard Arnault’s five children to serve in a senior role in the wine and spirits department, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Like Bernard Arnault’s other children, Alexandre has held various leadership positions under the LVMH umbrella, including executive vice president at Tiffany & Co. since 2021, and a stint as CEO of luxury luggage company Rimowa before that.
Under Arnault’s leadership, Tiffany & Co.’s revenues rose, reportedly making it the biggest contributor to LVMH’s growth, and the brand revamped its flagship store located on Fifth Avenue in New York.
Alexandre is Bernard Arnault’s middle child, younger than two oldest children—Delphine Arnault, 49, the CEO of Dior, and Antoine Arnault, 47, senior executive CEO at Dior—from his first marriage with Anne Dewavrin.
Arnault’s is the oldest son from his father’s second marriage to Hélène Mercier-Arnault, followed by Fréderic, 29, CEO of LVMH Watches, and Jean, 26, who also leads Louis Vuitton’s watch business.
Bernard Arnault and his family are worth an estimated $158.7 billion, making Arnault the fifth-richest in the world as of Thursday morning. The LVMH empire includes such fashion brands as Dior, Sephora, Loewe and Marc Jacobs. Arnault’s net worth has fallen this year as his business has slowed. His net worth has previously eclipsed $200 million, making him the richest person in the world at various points both last year and this year.
Arnault is known for his celebrity ties, which he wielded while at Tiffany for marketing campaigns. He has collaborated several times with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, with whom he launched the Tiffany “About Love” advertising campaign in 2021. For the campaign, Beyoncé wore the brand’s iconic 128-carat yellow diamond, making her the first Black woman and fourth person in history to wear it. She also wore custom Tiffany & Co. designs on her Renaissance World Tour last year and attended Arnault’s wedding in 2021. Other celebrities Arnault has tapped for Tiffany & Co. collaborations include Kendrick Lamar, who wore a diamond crown of thorns on the cover for his 2022 album, “Mr Morale & The Big Steppers,” as well as Pharrell Williams and Hailey Bieber. Arnault also flaunts celebrity connections on his social media accounts, and has posted pictures socializing with Elon Musk, Lebron James, Usain Bolt and Gal Gadot. Last year, rapper Kid Cudi posted a picture of a Tiffany & Co. bracelet given to him for his birthday by Arnault, whom he called a “really special friend.” Arnault also has links to Donald Trump and his family, most recently attending Trump’s controversial campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Puck News reported. Trump and Arnault have met on multiple occasions, including for a dinner last year at Mar-a-Lago, which Trump posted about on Truth Social. “He is a young man on the move, the son of one of the great businessmen and leaders in Europe, and in the World,” Trump wrote about Arnault, saying they discussed Tiffany & Co. taking over a storefront formerly occupied by Nike in New York, near Trump Tower. Trump also met with Arnault and his father in 2019 for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at a new Louis Vuitton workshop in Johnson County, Texas.
Speculation has mounted over who may take over the conglomerate owned by Bernard Arnault, 75, who has not disclosed his succession plans. Arnault has not confirmed that his eventual successor will be one of his children, telling the New York Times last year: “It’s not an obligation, nor inevitable, that a kid is my successor,” stating the “best person inside the family or outside the family should be one day my successor.” In a move to prevent division among his potential heirs last year, Arnault reportedly established a new holding company of which control is split evenly between his five children, which has the power to make consequential decisions impacting LVMH. Arnault has also brushed off comparisons to the popular HBO series “Succession,” in which a media mogul’s children fight for control of his business empire.
Bernard Arnault Built a Luxury Empire on ‘Desirability.’ Who Will Inherit It? (New York Times)
Meet the mastermind behind Tiffany & Co.’s new direction (Vogue)