LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault's influence grows with Académie election

Bernard Arnault, founder and CEO of LVMH has been elected as a member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques in France, one of the country’s most highly revered societies.

One of the five learned societies of France, known as the Institut de France, the Académie is made up of 50 members across the six sections, broken down into: philosophy; morals and sociology; law; political economics, statistics and finance; history and geography; and a general selection.

Arnault, the richest person in France, was elected by 27 votes to sit in the political economics, statistics and finance section. He replaced Denis Kessler, the businessman who served as CEO of SCOR SE, one of France’s biggest reinsurance companies, until his death in 2023.

Although Arnault successfully won his place in the Académie, of the 40 total voters, seven came out in opposition through five abstentions and two “no” answers on ballots.

It’s a highly esteemed position as the Académie exists under the protection of the president of the Republic. Arnault is joined in his section by other key business leaders in France, such as Michel Pébereau, the former CEO of BNP Paribas and Nobel Prize-winning economist Jean Tirole.

As part of the Académie, billionaire Arnault will have a say over the institution’s influence into French policy. Its mission statement, as defined by law is “to contribute on a non-profit basis to the improvement and influence of literature, science and the arts.”

For Arnault, this announcement is a positive piece of news after a tumultuous week in which he appeared in court as part of an investigation into Bernard Squarcini, head of France’s intelligence service under Nicolas Sarkozy, on charges of corruption, illegal surveillance and influence peddling.

Squarcini’s charges include accusations that he used his security credentials for private gain, spying for LVMH while he served as private security contractor between 2013 and 2016.

Arnault denied any knowledge of the scheme. In 2021, LVMH paid €10 million to settle criminal investigations into Squarcini’s work to provide confidential information to the luxury goods company.

75-year-old Arnault has long been the subject of media scrutiny as France’s richest individual and the man who grew LVMH to the €300 billion company since he helped found the merged company in 1987.

In a real-world version of ‘Succession’, it’s still unclear who will replace Arnault when he eventually steps down from his role. Of his five children, the three eldest could all be in contention. Third child 32-year-old Alexandre Arnault has lately piqued interest after being appointed deputy chief executive of Moët Hennessy last month.

“The idea is Alexandre would be a very close second,” a source close to the family told the Financial Times. The supposed plan is for him to serve, at first, alongside current LVMH CFO Jean-Jacques Guiony.