Billionaire Arnault sees optimism in US after attending Trump inauguration
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Luxury mogul Bernard Arnault and Mr Donald Trump have known each other since the French entrepreneur first came to New York in the early 1980s.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PARIS – Mr Bernard Arnault said a wind of optimism is blowing through the US after Mr Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, in contrast to his native France, where the government is seeking to raise corporate taxes and unemployment is increasing.
“There’s a different mood” between the two countries, the French billionaire told reporters on Jan 28 on the sidelines of LVMH’s annual results, at one point comparing a return to France to a cold shower.
The 75-year-old luxury mogul
The controlling shareholder of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE attended with his wife Helene and two of his five children, Ms Delphine, 49, and Mr Alexandre, 32.
“Who would refuse an invitation from the US president to attend his inauguration?” Mr Arnault asked, saying he has known every president since Mr Ronald Reagan and has been acquainted with Mr Trump personally for a long time.
“Trump was elected with an incredible majority,” he added.
Mr Trump, who swept each of the hotly contested electoral swing states, was the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years, winning 49.8 per cent of ballots cast compared with 48.3 per cent for his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris.
Mr Arnault and Mr Trump have known each other since the French entrepreneur first came to New York in the early 1980s, fleeing a Socialist government in France and seeking to start a real estate business, an endeavour that was not successful.
The ties have endured – Mr Trump in 2024 told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview that Mr Arnault was an “incredible guy, a friend of mine”.
LVMH, meantime, generates a quarter of its revenue from the US, which would likely leave the firm vulnerable to any import tariffs Mr Trump might impose on the European Union.
Mr Arnault declined to say whether he had spoken about the risk of tariffs with Mr Trump since his election.
Investors are hoping the US will be a bright spot for luxury in 2025 to counterbalance the demand downturn in China.
When Mr Trump won his first presidential election eight years ago, Mr Arnault and Mr Alexandre went to congratulate him at Trump Tower shortly after.
In October 2019, Mr Arnault and Mr Trump inaugurated a Louis Vuitton leather goods plant in Texas as Mr Arnault sought to prove his group was also willing to create production jobs in the US. Mr Alexandre was present too, as was Trump’s daughter Ivanka.
Early in 2023, the younger Arnault and his wife attended a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, with Mr Trump describing the scion as a “young man on the move”, according to a post on his social network Truth Social.
Ms Ivanka has also kept in touch with the younger Arnaults. When Mr Alexandre’s wife Geraldine opened a boutique for her fashion brand in 2024 in New York City, Ms Ivanka attended the event.
The Trumps have favored LVMH fashions at notable events since November, when Mrs Melania Trump wore Dior on election day and during the inauguration weekend. Ms Ivanka also wore a Dior outfit and a gown by Givenchy, another LVMH label, during the inauguration celebrations.
Mr Arnault enjoys a prominent role in business and political circles in France.
He is regularly invited to the Elysee Palace when heads of state come to Paris, as happened in May, when China’s President Xi Jinping visited. Mr Arnault’s wealth is estimated at US$209 billion (S$282 billion) on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him Europe’s wealthiest person. BLOOMBERG
