Who is Frederic Arnault? Billionaire Bernard Arnault’s 29-year-old son picked to lead LVMH watch division

Billionaires

LVMH, the luxury fashion and alcohol giant owned by billionaire Bernard Arnault, named the owner’s 29-year-old son Frederic Arnault as head of the company’s watch division—joining his siblings in a senior leadership role at the family business.

PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 05: Frederic Arnault, Helene Arnault and Bernard Arnault attend the Men’s Singles Final match on Day 15 of The French Open 2022 at Roland Garros on June 05, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

Key facts

As head of LVMH watches, Arnault will oversee luxury brands including Zenith, Hublot, and TAG Heuer—he previously helmed the 164-year-old Swiss watch manufacturer’s push into smartwatch technology.
Arnault began working for TAG Heuer as the director of the Connected brand of smartwatches in 2017, before taking over as CEO in 2020.
Before working for his family business, Frederic held internships at McKinsey and Facebook’s AI research division.

Forbes valuation

We value Bernard Arnault and his family – including his son Frederic Arnault – at $187.2 billion—the second largest fortune in the world. The majority of his fortune comes from his 47% stake in LVMH—the conglomerate he began building in the 1980s.

Key background

Bernard Arnault began building an empire of luxury brands in the 1980s, when he purchased a stake in bankrupt fashion house Christian Dior for $15 million in 1984.

Arnault brokered a deal to create a luxury goods conglomerate in 1987, merging Louis Vuitton with champagne maker Moët et Chandon and cognac brand Hennessy.

The company expanded rapidly under his leadership, purchasing over 75 brands including Givenchy, Sephora, Marc Jacobs and Bulgari. He also purchased Christian Dior outright in 2017, paying an estimated $13.1 billion.

All five of Arnault’s children hold management positions at LVMH. His eldest daughter, Delphine, 48, is CEO of Christian Dior.

Antoine, 46, is LVMH’s head of communications, and previously served as CEO of Italian shoemaker Berluti. Alexandre, 31, serves as executive vice president of Tiffany & Co., the legacy American jeweler LVMH acquired in 2019 in a landmark $16.2 billion deal.

Arnault’s youngest son, Jean, 25, serves as director of watches at Louis Vuitton.

This article was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.