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MASTERS: LVMH boss Bernard Arnault

At the top of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, the world's largest conglomerate of luxury products, is a man who rarely eats out, drinks little and is at his happiest when he is at home in Paris playing his piano or absorbed in his other passion: tennis. Celia Walden interviews LVMH boss Bernard Arnault about his family (all five children work for his company), Elon Musk, the war in Ukraine and the value of quality. "Quality can last longer than a lifetime."

When Bernard Arnault overtook Jeff Bezos as the richest man in the world last year, I was reminded of what the boss of LVMH said to me at our last meeting, seven years ago: "I love winning, always want to be number one." The man at the helm of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy is too refined to come across as pompous, but I pictured him silently enjoying that moment - perhaps even secretly sipping a glass of Dom Pérignon, the brand that helped him raise his fortune. But when I ask him now what that moment meant to him, the 73-year-old says, "It didn't do anything to me. It's just a number." Although $186.3 billion is not just a number. "But remember that such numbers don't mean much: it's not the money in my bank account, but the value of LVMH shared by thousands of shareholders and pension funds." He shrugs. "So yes, our efforts have made the company worth more, but frankly I don't see such things as a personal milestone."

Considering how often such numbers and positions change, perhaps it is understandable. As I write this, Elon Musk ($250.2 billion) crowns the list with Arnault in second place ($157.3 billion) and Bezos not far behind ($153.2 billion). For months these three men have dominated the top spots. Today we meet not at LVMH's headquarters in Paris, but at Saatchi Gallery in London, where I catch a glimpse of Tiffany & Co.'s stunning exhibit. His 30-year-old son and Tiffany board member Alexandre, one of the billionaire's five children, has been keeping an eye on the Vision and Virtuosity exhibition for the past year and a half. LVMH bought the brand, synonymous with old New York glamour, in 2020 for just under $16 billion. By the time I arrive at the gallery, the two have already spent hours looking at Tiffany's largest exhibition in nearly a century: featuring four hundred precious objects, including more than one hundred and fifty historic pieces on public display for the first time, the (minuscule) Givenchy dress Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's, and one of the world's rarest and most beautiful yellow diamonds: the Tiffany diamond, a 128.54-carat stone.

Having interviewed Arnault before, I know that the head of the 75-year-old empire, which includes Christian Dior, Dom Pérignon, Bvlgari, Louis Vuitton, Celine, Givenchy, Fendi, Loro Piana, Sephora and Tiffany & Co. includes, is a man of refined taste who rarely eats out, drinks little and is at his happiest at home in Paris behind his piano, where he is surrounded by art by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Maurizio Cattelan, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso, among others, or when he is absorbed in his other passion: tennis. During that interview, he told me how his children had surprised him a few weeks earlier when he showed up for what he thought would be a family game, and suddenly found himself face to face with Roger Federer ready for a game of tennis. I then got a better idea of what his family means to him and how close-knit his five children (from two marriages) are. All of them work for the family business. Besides Alexandre, Delphine (47) is vice president of Louis Vuitton, Antoine (45) head of communications & image at LVMH, Frédéric (28) CEO of TAG Heuer and 23-year-old Jean is marketing and development director at Louis Vuitton's watch division.

So Alexandre is also there today, at Saatchi Gallery. It is entertaining to see how normal their father-son interactions are. During their conversation, Bernard asks his son questions about pop culture. It was Alexandre's idea to name both Emma Radcanu and Beyoncé and Jay-Z - friends who were guests at his wedding in Venice last year, where he married Géraldine Guyot, founder of accessories brand D'Estrëe - as Tiffany ambassadors. And like any other child, Alexandre makes teasing remarks about his father's cautious attitude toward technology. In 2015, the head of the 175,647-employee international company confessed that, although in possession of a cell phone, he never texted but always called, and did not use e-mail. "But I have made progress!" he assures me today. He looks slender and elegant, decked out in a navy blue suit by Christian Dior, handmade Berluti loafers and with a burgundy cashmere scarf wrapped around his neck. "I do have email now and follow Instagram and TikTok. Thanks to Alexandre and his brothers, I am much more up-to-date."

Given that Bernard has always been very private, it surprises me how openly he talks about his family. "I grew up in northern France where many descendants of family textile companies lived," he says in a slightly husky voice. "It's not a covid, mind you, don't worry. Comes from all the talking yesterday." For a time, these heirs rested on their laurels, he explains. "Then they stopped working altogether and their companies went belly up. Therefore, it was very important to me that my children inherited a work ethic from home. That they got their diplomas and were used to working from an early age. We wanted to make them go-getters," he says. "And that's what they became."

MASTERS MAGAZINE

Want to read more of this interview and find out, among other things, what Arnault's meeting with The Queen was like? In the fall edition of MASTERS, an interview with LVMH boss Bernard Arnault ("being the richest man in the world didn't do anything for me"), a driving impression of the electric Audi RS e-tron GT, on reportage with the 'tree matchmakers' of The Green Contractors, an interview with celebrity chef Dick Middelweerd and visiting Ronald Koeman in Barcelona. The war, the climate crisis, the energy problem... More than ever, leadership and entrepreneurship are being called upon. With MASTERS EXPO | The Colourful Edition (December 8 to 12, RAI Amsterdam), we want to contribute in our own way and give the world a push in the right direction. In this edition of MASTERS, a colorful preview of the most exclusive business fair. Time to think ahead, innovate, connect!

MASTERS #51