Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and the world's richest man reportedly meets his five children once a month for lunch inside a private dining room at the headquarters of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. According to a report by Wall Street Journal, the lunch lasts for 90 minutes and begins with the French billionaire reading off his iPad the discussion topics. Mr Arnault discusses strategy at his luxury business empire.
According to WSJ, Mr Arnault then goes around the table asking his five adult children for advice. The 74-year-old billionaire seeks an opinion on specific managers at the company, the people said, or whether it's time for a shake-up at one of LVMH's myriad brands.
Mr Arnault effectively auditions them to see who will take over the luxury empire. However, the billionaire has given no indication of whom he will choose as his successor, saying only that it will be based on merit.
WSJ report said that these monthly sessions are part of the decades-long plan to prepare his children who will take over the company when he is no longer there.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mr Arnaut pulled ahead of Tesla CEO Elon Musk late last year as the wealthiest person on the planet. His wealth was $208 billion on April 19, according to the index.
Mr Arnault owns about half of the massive luxury brand company. In 1989, he acquired a controlling stake in LVMH. The company's portfolio of brands includes Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Tiffany, Sephora, TAG Heuer and Dom Perignon champagne.
The world's richest man has also appointed his children to important positions within the company. Delphine, the eldest of his children, was named the head of the second-largest brand in the empire Christian Dior. The position of managing the holding firm that oversees LVMH and Mr Arnault's family fortune was given to her brother Antoine, as per the outlet. Frederic Arnault is the CEO of TAG Heuer, Alexandre Arnault is an executive at Tiffany and Jean Arnault, who is the youngest of the Arnault siblings, is in charge of marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton's watch department.
