LVMH Boss Bernard Arnault’s Net Worth Plunged $50 Billion Last Year, What Drove Luxury Down?

• LVMH faced a pronounced dip in 2024, with sluggish demand in China and Europe.
• Despite losing billions of his fortune, Bernard Arnault remains among the world’s richest, bolstered by his LVMH stake.
• Analysts project a possible rebound in luxury sales, especially in China and the US, tariffs pending…

LVMH, a global behemoth in the luxury goods sector, experienced a number of challenges in 2024 that momentarily called into question the business’s otherwise meteoric rise, Sadly for LVMH’s chairman Bernard Arnault, these challenges were mirrored in a substantial drop in his personal wealth. While figures vary across reports — some publications put the decrease at US$32 billion (c. $50 billion AUD) and others at US$53 billion (c. $85 billion AUD) — everyone agrees that a significant sum was wiped from Arnault’s personal fortune.

Nevertheless, he is still among the richest individuals on the planet, but the scale of these losses underscores broader challenges facing global luxury brands in a time of apparently neverending economic uncertainty. Here’s a closer look at how LVMH has fared and how Arnault plans to make this cash back…

LVMH’s Slide

Demand for the group’s most prestigious brands — including Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon, and TAG Heuer — dropped in several key markets last year. China, by far the company’s most important market, was particularly weak, while Europe also showed unwelcome signs of slowing consumer demand. Relentless inflation, a global economic downturn, and more ephemeral shifting consumer habits are some of the factors contributing to this pronounced dip.

LVMH’s shares dropped by 13% through 2024, reflecting a wider market correction. The group’s sales were flat for the first nine months of the year, culminating in a 2% fall in net sales compared to the same period prior year. Interestingly, the Moët Hennessy wines and spirits division bore the brunt of this decline, with a punchy 11% revenue drop. Cognac sales struggled in both China and the US, forcing LVMH to resort to never-endearing discounting tactics to clear stock. After a decade of exponential growth, this not only marked a change in fortunes for the group but also highlighted the more widespread vulnerability of the luxury sector amid ongoing global shocks.

Nevertheless, LVMH continued to grab headlines as a lead supporter of the Paris Olympics and for contributing over €1 billion to the restoration of Notre Dame; savvy moves despite the setbacks elsewhere. However, even such high-profile endeavours could not fully offset the challenges facing the company, and Arnault opted for a big reshuffle within the organisation, moving former Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Guiony to head Moët Hennessy and appointing one of his sons, Alexandre Arnault, as Deputy CEO of the wines and spirits division.

Resilience in the Face of Turbulence

On the personal level: While Bernard Arnault’s net worth may have dropped precipitously — from around US$231 billion — he still stands a comfortable sixth on the global rich list at roughly US$178 billion. His massive stake in LVMH, through a network of holding companies and trusts, remains his towering asset. Analysts have repeatedly said that Arnault’s willingness to buy more than US$100 million worth of the group’s stock in recent months is a sign of unwavering confidence in its longer-term prospects.

Market gurus maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook for LVMH, chalking up a rebound in demand for high-end goods in China and continued robust performance in the US, where LVMH typically outperforms its competitors by a comfortable margin. Some predict organic sales growth of around 4% in 2025, though potential tariff disputes in both Beijing and Washington loom…

In the longer term, a Deloitte Private study projects that ultra-rich families, including those like Arnault’s, could see their combined wealth soar by 2030 from US$5.5 trillion to a massive US$9.5 trillion by 2030. Therefore, while the downturn of 2024 may have been painful for the moneybags of the world, it appears to be a temporary blip rather than a permanent setback.