The French billionaire working his Trump ties to spare his luxury empire
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The day after President Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania last summer, he received a call from a familiar French voice. It was Bernard Arnault, owner of the globe-spanning luxury empire LVMH.
Arnault wanted to check in on the man he had known for decades. Trump was also in the middle of a fierce presidential campaign, as well as several criminal proceedings. The phone call from Arnault sent a clear signal: The luxury titan was sticking with Trump through thick and thin.
With Trump now in office and warning of steep tariffs on European goods, the question is whether Arnault can leverage his connection to keep his luxury conglomerate out of any trade wars. Tariffs would be a blow to Arnault’s empire, whose largest market is the U.S.—equal in size to all of Europe combined. Trump has called the European Union’s trade surplus with the U.S.
an “atrocity," but he also often leans on personal relationships to guide his policy. The ties between the families are extensive, dating to when the two patriarchs were up-and-coming property developers in Manhattan. Arnault’s second-eldest son, Alexandre, has become friends with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Ivanka Trump is a friend of Arnault’s daughter, Delphine, and a devotee of Dior, the brand Delphine oversees as CEO. The Arnaults’ conglomerate even pays rent to the Trump Organization, which is the landlord for LVMH’s Louis Vuitton store in Midtown Manhattan. During Trump’s first term, Arnault’s decision to expand handbag production in the U.S.—and publicly promote the move with Trump—helped the luxury industry largely avoid an initial wave of tariffs that hit other European sectors.
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