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She is the new boss of Christian Dior. But Delphine Arnault is no stranger to the luxurious French fashion house that she will now run.
For the 47-year-old woman, whose promotion was announced yesterday, it turns out to be the owner’s daughter.
Bernard Arnault is the richest man in the world, with a fortune of 147,000 million pounds sterling.
He is co-founder and president of the LVMH conglomerate that owns the brands Louis Vuitton, Moet and Hennessy, as well as Dior.
Delphine Arnault, daughter of Christian Dior owner Bernard Arnault (left), is the new head of the French luxury fashion house. The father-daughter duo shows off in 2019.
Arnault has designated Delphine, the eldest of his five children, as his heir apparent as he tightens the family’s grip on the £345bn luxury goods empire.
However, the man nicknamed ‘the wolf in cashmere’ for his ruthless approach has signaled that he has no intention of retiring anytime soon: the group recently raised its age limit for chief executives from 75 to 80.
All of his children have important roles in the firm’s brands.
A mother of two, Ms. Arnault, who begins her new role on February 1, has been executive vice president of Louis Vuitton since 2013 and was previously CEO of Dior.
Mr Arnault named Delphine, (pictured in 2015) the eldest of his five children, as his heir apparent as he tightens the family’s grip on the £345bn luxury goods empire.
A well-respected, serious and hard-working entrepreneur, Delphine graduated from EDHEC Business School in Lille and the London School of Economics, where she was Director of Student Organizations.
He grew up primarily in Lille, but spent three years in the United States when his family moved to New York.
She received her first Louis Vuitton bag, a brown Noe bag, for her 18th birthday.
His career began in the late 1990s at the McKinsey consultancy, and he moved to Dior in 2000.
He was credited with keeping the brand afloat in 2011 following widely publicized revelations of an anti-Semitic outburst in Paris by its British creative director John Galliano that led to his dismissal.
Ms. Arnault, a mother of two, (right) who begins her new role on February 1, has been executive vice president of Louis Vuitton since 2013 and was previously CEO of Dior. Ms Arnault is pictured with Paul McCartney (centre) and his wife Nancy Shevell (left) in 2019
Ms Arnault (pictured with her father in 1992) was credited with keeping the brand afloat in 2011 following widely publicized revelations of an anti-Semitic outburst in Paris by its British creative director John Galliano that led to upon his dismissal.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Arnault described her management style as “quite calm”.
But she added: ‘I’m very competitive. Throughout. I like competition, it’s fun.
Arnault married Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, heir to an Italian winemaking dynasty, in 2005.
Their wedding was a significant event for the French elite and was named by Harper’s Bazaar magazine as the wedding of the year.
She was wearing a dress designed for her by Galliano that took 1,300 hours to make.
The couple divorced five years later and she is now in a relationship with French billionaire Xavier Niel.
Xavier, who is almost a decade older than his wife, is co-owner of the daily Le Monde and the 21st richest person in France with an estimated fortune of €8 billion.
In 2013, he spent £41m on a free coding school in Paris, as well as nearly £250m on Station F, the world’s largest startup lab home to 1,000 start-ups.
And in 2020 he admitted that he was a teenage spy who hacked into President Mitterrand’s mobile phone.
Arnault, who is said to be a very private person who does not like media intrusion, gave birth to daughter Elisa in August 2012 and son Joseph in September 2016.
She previously told the FT: ‘I’m pretty low-key.
I think I prefer to concentrate on my work. So, I only speak when I have something to say. ‘Live hidden, and live happily.’
In 2014, he created the LVMH award for young fashion designers.
It is also said that he enjoys a close relationship with his father.
And while Arnault is keeping a low profile on social media, his children are active on Instagram, offering a glimpse into the family’s lavish lifestyle.
Delphine and her father have been regularly photographed with the likes of Rihanna, whose Fenty company was founded under the LVMH umbrella, and Paul McCartney.
The family has a large number of famous friends; Tennis fan Bernard and his children are often shown training with Roger Federer and other snaps show them mingling with Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour and Pharrell Williams.
Delphine Arnault and her husband Xavier Niel, 52, attend the French Open on June 9, 2019
Pictured: Delphine and her husband meet French President Macron during a state visit by Grand Duchy Henri of Luxembourg, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg on March 19, 2018.
Unsurprisingly, the jetsetting family has a large portfolio of properties and divides their time among some of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the world.
Arnault’s main residence in Paris, a 17th-century mansion, is filled with some of the world’s greatest art, according to Bloomberg, including works by Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso.
He also owns two castles in France and another mansion in Saint-Tropez.
In 2000, Arnault bought Nyn Park, a large estate about 30 km north of London, and built a 4,300-square-meter house.
He also bought a 54-hectare island in the Bahamas, priced at $35 million, an apartment in Brussels and more than 25 wineries around the world.
Singer Rihanna, owner of makeup brand Fenty, founded the label under LVMH in 2019. Pictured with Delphine and Bernard Arnault.
Delphine and Bernard Arnault attend the Stella McCartney show during Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 in October with Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell
Announcing Ms Arnault’s promotion yesterday, her father, who founded what is now LVMH in 1987 and surpassed Elon Musk last year to become the world’s richest man, said: “Under his leadership, convenience of Louis Vuitton products advanced significantly, allowing the brand to regularly set new sales records.
“His insightful insights and unparalleled experience will be decisive assets in driving Christian Dior’s continued development.”
Ms. Arnault is also a member of LVMH’s board of directors and its executive committee.
LVMH has another connection to a fashion boss with a mega-rich father: Sir Paul McCartney’s daughter, Stella. The designer has collaborated with the brand on luxury fashion and a skincare range.
Leaders who pass the baton to family members are not uncommon.
Ms. Arnault is also a member of LVMH’s board of directors and its executive committee. In the 2021 photo, from left to right: Delphine Arnault, Bernard Arnault, Antoine Arnault and his wife, Russian model Natalia Vodianova
Last year, Marta Ortega Pérez replaced her father Amancio Ortega, Spain’s richest man, as president of the world’s largest fashion group, Inditex, owner of Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius. She started at the age of 22 as a sales associate at Zara on King’s Road in London.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which includes Sports Direct and House of Fraser, installed his son-in-law Michael Murray as chief executive last May.