LVMH boss hits back at French media piece on his luxury empire

The richest person in France, LVMH chief Bernard Arnault, known for maintaining a low profile, took to social media to publish an open letter defending his family and business empire.

Arnault steers the $260 billion luxury empire that owns Louis Vuitton and Dior. He is famously offline, but that changed when he made his first post on X recently, which Elon Musk reposted.

The 77-year-old billionaire published a sharp, sarcastic, three-page open letter criticizing France's leading newspaper, Le Monde, over a series of articles examining his political connections, media ownership, and a potential Succession-style power struggle among his five children.

In the letter, Arnault mocked several claims, denying allegations that LVMH avoids hiring overweight employees and dismissing rumors that visitors with ties to rival Hermes have them confiscated at the company’s headquarters. He also argued that ordinary family interactions were being portrayed as corporate intrigue.

Arnault’s personal communication shift comes alongside his recent appearance on a podcast.

The tactics mirror a broader trend among executive leaders who are bypassing traditional company press releases to engage directly with the public. 

Earlier this month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined X and shared a letter supporting open-weight AI models.