LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault Was Hailed as the ‘God of Fortunes’ During His Visit to China

Demetrius Simms
·3 min read
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China sees the CEO of LVMH as far more than a billionaire businessman. Following his appearance at Paris Fashion Week, Bernard Arnault took a trip to the East Asian country and was welcomed as some kind of monetary deity.

The 74-year-old spent Wednesday in Chengdu and Thursday in Shanghai. He was reportedly in town to inspect boutiques owned by his French luxury conglomerate, boost team morale, and reiterate the importance of the region. Unwittingly, he was also there for a mini meet-and-greet.

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Customers who caught onto the magnate’s whereabouts began to crowd shopping malls to get a glimpse of him. They even went as far as hailing him “the god of fortunes,” quite fitting given he’s held the “world’s richest person” title two times and is worth an estimated $197 billion.

“The weather was amazing, the mall was packed, Mr. Bernard Arnault was even more gracious, kinder, and happier than the last time he visited,” Molly Wu, general manager of Sino–Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, shared on social commerce platform Xiaohongshu. Videos posted to Twitter this week show Arnault being escorted through crowds as he walked through a mall and around town.

Arnault was accompanied by a number of LVMH execs including his only daughter, Delphine Arnault, chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture; his youngest son, Jean Arnault, director of marketing and development for Louis Vuitton watches; Michael Schriver, LVMH group president of North Asia; Charles Delapalme, CEO of Christian Dior Couture; and Pietro Beccari, chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton. He was also joined by the local retail partners.

“The heads of luxury brands want to be on the ground to obtain more firsthand information that will better inform their decision-making process and management strategy,” Ting Zhou, dean of Yaok Institute, said in a statement. “The move is to tell shoppers and local partners that the company is confident and has high hopes for the future of the China market, especially now that the market is experiencing an uneven economic recovery.”

China continues to be a main driver of growth for LVHM, despite the tumultuous economic environment. In fact, the country helped lift the group’s revenue by 17 percent in the first quarter of 2023. Clearly, Chinese shoppers are a fan of LVMH’s brands and perhaps even of Arnault himself. Sources believe the billionaire—or god of fortune, rather—will arrive in Hong Kong on Friday.

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