In the midst of an inheritance drama, the shockwaves of the war with Iran have reached Louis Vuitton

Bernard Arnault, the richest man in France and owner of the luxury giant LVMH, opened an account on X last month and quickly amassed about 119,000 followers. This is a dramatic change for a man who tends to stay away from the media. In addition to entering social networks, which was used mainly to publish a series of accusations against the French newspaper "Le Monde", Arnault participated in a podcast telling the story of his life. The new approach from the owner of famous brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Sephora, according to those close to him, comes against the backdrop of his growing frustration with how he and his family are portrayed in the media, a frustration that reached a peak after "Le Monde" published a series of articles about him and his businesses, including claims about inheritance battles allegedly taking place between his five children and presenting them as "France's last royal family".

Arnault's children are Delphine and Antoine from his first wife, and Alexandre, Frédéric and Jean from his second. All of them hold senior positions in the family business, which is valued at 259 billion dollars and includes 75 brands. The eldest, Delphine, who serves as CEO of Dior, said that her father involved them in business from a young age. This approach is supposed to prepare the heirs for the day they take over the corporation, but according to the series of articles published in "Le Monde", this tactic has mainly turned them into rivals. An obvious comparison is to the television series "Succession", where the children of a media mogul fight over the management of the family business on the day after the father's death. In the few interviews that the Arnault family members give, they have tried with all their might to dismiss these comparisons out of hand and present a united front.

Rumors about inheritance struggles are circulating in the media, among other things, because it is unclear what the 77-year-old Arnault plans to do after his retirement. In January, Reuters reported that some shareholders requested clarifications regarding how Arnault intends to bequeath control of the luxury giant, and, above all, to whom, claiming that the lack of transparency poses a risk to the business. In a move seen as part of broader preparations for the next generation, Aymeric Le Clere was appointed earlier this month as Chairman and CEO of the family holding company Financière Agache, which controls about 50% of LVMH's capital and about 66% of voting rights. Le Clere works closely with Arnault's son, Frédéric.

But for now, Arnault shows no signs that he intends to retire soon. The pressure now being exerted by shareholders to understand what the future holds for LVMH comes against the backdrop of a challenging economic climate. A slowdown in the global luxury sector in recent years has led to a sharp decline in the corporation's stock, and accordingly, billions of dollars have been wiped from Arnault's personal wealth. Since climbing to a peak of 233 billion dollars in 2024, Arnault's wealth has shrunk to 156 billion dollars. Although the market expected a recovery this year, the war with Iran disrupted these plans. In April, LVMH released its first-quarter results, which missed forecasts: the company noted that the war with Iran had a negative impact of 1% on quarterly growth. US President Donald Trump's tariffs also weighed on the results.

Meanwhile, it seems that Arnault can breathe a little easier, after the company reported a slight recovery for the second quarter at the end of July. Sales climbed 3% to 19,52 billion euros, while the fashion division rose 1% to 8,89 billion euros, after seven consecutive quarters of declines.