The Arnault family will take 800 million in dividends this year 160 million less than last year, blame the luxury crisis

Even the rich can have problems, especially if they work in fashion. Take Bernard Arnault, for example, who in recent months has been overtaken by the Hermès heirs in the ranking of the richest people in France (and the world), has seen LVMH's stock drop out of the top 5 in Europe, has lost billions on the stock market due to the policies of his friend Donald Trump and now, has also seen a reduction in dividends for his large family. If last year he and his children, through the company Agache, received a dividend of nearly one billion, this year the Arnault family will see a contraction in their annual income, going from a staggering 998 million in 2024 to the current 839.6 million euros — the very definition of “first world problems,” indeed. In reality, as one might imagine, this approximately 160 million euro drop, while a loss, is unlikely to disrupt the finances of one of the richest and most powerful clans on Earth. Bernard Arnault, aged 76, along with his five children Delphine, Antoine, Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean, all employed at LVMH, still remain at the top of French and global capitalism, with an estimated net worth of 146 billion dollars placing them seventh in Forbes' ranking of the world's richest people, after holding the top spot in April 2024.

The figures, published in the Corriere della Sera, emerged from an analysis of the non-listed companies directly controlled by the Arnaults. Among them, the most important is Financière Agache, the private family holding company based in Paris through which the Arnaults control their empire, owning 49% of the capital and 65% of the voting rights. Financière Agache’s 2024 financial statements closed with a net profit of 2.6 billion euros, slightly up from 2.5 billion in 2023, and out of this, 839.6 million were allocated for distribution among the founder’s five children. The rest of the profit, not distributed, went to strengthen the company’s capital base, bringing available reserves to 18 billion euros. Added to this are unused credit lines totaling another 3.2 billion, an almost boundless liquidity which the Arnaults can draw from without even resorting to the group’s publicly traded companies. It is clear that the 160-million dividend drop was influenced by the LVMH crisis, which over the last twelve months has seen its market capitalization decline by 30%, now standing at around 240 billion euros. A trend that not only reflects the overall slowdown in the luxury market, but that, as reported by Miss Tweed, might lead the patriarch and his five children to restructure their portfolio of brands and companies — according to some, by selling underperforming brands, according to others through spinning off the Wines & Spirits division, and still others by listing Sephora on the stock exchange, which in the midst of the luxury slowdown recorded estimated revenues of between 15 and 16 billion euros last year, with double-digit annual growth.

Also weighing on the family companies' finances have been various real estate investments, the most important of which is certainly the purchase of Casa degli Atellani, the historic residence on Corso Magenta in Milan, for which Arnault shelled out over 60 million euros at the end of 2023. It is a building of high historical and symbolic value, restored in 1919 by Pietro Portaluppi, which houses the historic Leonardo's Vineyard. The complex is currently undergoing renovation, set to be completed next year, with design costs so far totaling 1.3 million euros, of which only 58,650 euros were prepaid for the garden — those must be some very expensive flowerbeds. In fact, according to the Corriere, the house might even become Arnault’s new residence, and he could move to Milan to take advantage of a more favorable tax regime — all speculations that arose after Arnault himself criticized the French tax system in May 2025, when he emphasized that LVMH is the company that pays the most taxes in France despite only 8% of its revenue being generated in the country. But for now, this possibility still seems remote. In any case, despite the luxury crisis, the Arnault family has collected 2.8 billion euros in dividends over the last three years, and therefore the 160 million less to divide up this year will not put their surely expensive summer holidays at risk, but rather show that the family can face market fluctuations without worry, relying on an immense financial portfolio and a rock-solid corporate structure, given that the five children are the only partners allowed in the family limited partnership, cannot sell their shares until 2052, and Bernard Arnault can remain in control with full powers until the age of 95. Money doesn’t retire — nor does Bernard Arnault.