Delphine Arnault (Paris, 47), daughter of the tycoon owner of the LVHM group and the richest man in the world, Bernard Arnault, takes over the management of Christian Dior Couture, the second largest fashion company in the group, in February. In addition, in a double statement published this Wednesday, the world luxury giant also announced a change of direction at Louis Vuitton: the previous director of Dior, Pietro Beccari, will replace Michael Burke in the direction of the largest company from the French group.
In the statement, Bernard Arnault highlighted Michael Burke’s “impressive work” at the helm of Louis Vuitton, which has allowed the brand to “grow the lead over the competition”. The French tycoon has also highlighted his daughter’s role as number two in the company, which has allowed him to “go from record to record”. “His keen eye and unparalleled experience will be instrumental in continuing the development of Christian Dior,” he said.
Arnault, 73, has been married twice and has five children, all of whom work within the group: Antoine (45) was appointed CEO and vice-chairman of the holding company Christian Dior SE in December last year and has held other senior positions in various group companies, such as Fendi . Alexandre (30) is Executive Vice President of Tiffany, the luxury jeweler. Fréderic (27) heads the watch brand Tag Heuer and Jean (24) is director of marketing and watch development at Louis Vuitton.
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At the end of last year, Bernard Arnault overtook Elon Musk as the richest person in the world. The empire he leads includes around 70 fashion, beverage and cosmetic brands. His are Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Loewe, Sephora, Bulgari, Moët & Chandon or Tiffany, who, according to Forbes magazine, report enormous benefits for the family with an estimated fortune of 188,000 million dollars (around 177,000 million euros).
Since it took control of the Boussac Group in 1984, the former owner of Dior, which was then on the verge of bankruptcy, it has not stopped acquiring luxury brands and multiplying the value of the LVMH Group by 15. In November 2017, the Frenchman was involved in the so-called Paradise Papers, a series of documents related to investments in tax havens.
The announcement of the appointments was well received by investors. Shares of the group, which is the largest listed company in France, were up 1.19% early Wednesday. With less than an hour to go before the market closed, they were up 2.31%. The luxury giant’s share price has hit an all-time high.
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