PARIS -- Bernard Arnault has spent decades carefully cultivating the image of some of the world's most sought after brands, from Louis Vuitton to Dior. Now the LVMH chief is changing tactics when it comes to his own.
The billionaire published an acerbic open letter attacking one of France's top newspapers on Sunday, taking aim at a six-part examination of his political connections, media ownership and the question of who will eventually succeed him at the top of his luxury empire. On Monday, the 77-year-old took to social-media platform X for the first time to amplify his uncharacteristic missive.
The burst of personal communication -- which also includes a recent one-hour-and 41-minute appearance on a podcast about his life -- marks an abrupt change of tone for Arnault. For much of his career, he has let his luxury empire speak for him, carefully sculpting his own public image through a handful of select interactions with the media.
The new approach comes as Arnault has grown increasingly frustrated with how he and his family are being portrayed. He was furious about a recent series of articles about him and his business in Le Monde, according to people close to the businessman. The final installment, published Friday, described succession as "the poison at the heart of LVMH."
The newspaper series followed a recent French-language book that Arnault regarded as deeply unfair, the people added, and a steady stream of articles in other French publications about tensions within his family and jockeying among his five children.
Arnault has traditionally shrugged off bad press. When his children complain about a newspaper article, he reminds them that he endured worse at their age, when he was fighting bruising corporate battles. "You need a thick skin," he told one of them earlier this year after they complained about what they perceived as an unfair story.
His response this week reflects a broader shift among business leaders and other powerful figures, who are increasingly using podcasts and social media to bypass traditional news outlets and speak directly to the public. Nvidia chief Jensen Huang joined X last week, debuting on the platform with a letter defending open AI models.
In his first post on X, Arnault reposted his open letter to Le Monde -- issued Sunday via LVMH's press account -- and said he was "deeply touched by the many messages" he had received following its publication.
Arnault's arrival on X was amplified by Elon Musk, who reposted the luxury tycoon's inaugural post and endorsed the idea of communicating directly with the public rather than via the media.
In the three-page letter published Sunday evening, Arnault responded to a series of points raised in Le Monde's articles with a mix of sarcasm, self-defense and score-settling.
Arnault appeared particularly exercised by suggestions of a "Succession"-style struggle among his children -- Delphine, Antoine, Alexandre, Frédéric and Jean -- to take over. They all have roles at LVMH.
"Among the Arnaults, apparently, we don't discuss, we plot; we don't deliberate, we compete," he wrote. In reality, he said, his children run businesses, manage teams, make decisions and call one another on Sundays.
"What, in an ordinary family, is called a Sunday is called an intrigue in ours," Arnault wrote.
The dispute itself has a familial twist. Arnault's eldest son, Antoine, oversees LVMH's communications and image, while Xavier Niel, the telecoms billionaire and longtime partner of Arnault's daughter Delphine, is a shareholder in Le Monde.
"He doesn't deny anything. That's the most important thing for us," said Raphaëlle Bacqué, one of the Le Monde journalists who wrote the articles.
Bacqué defended Le Monde's reporting, saying the newspaper's sources were "as close to the group as you can get." Arnault's more humorous response was "cleverly done," she added.
Arnault's anger was heightened by the fact that he had spoken with the newspaper for the series, as had his children and several longtime LVMH executives.
"I very clearly suspect you of having punished transparency," he wrote in the letter, arguing that rivals who had refused to engage with the newspaper had received more favorable treatment.
Arnault has long been a polarizing figure in France. Admirers credit him with turning brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior into global powerhouses and helping establish France as the dominant force in the luxury industry. To critics, he is a symbol of inequality, his face appearing on placards during protests against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms.
Arnault ended his letter on a more conciliatory note, inviting the Le Monde journalists for an aperitif at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the brand's contemporary-art museum in Paris. The wines, he promised, would be French.
He also said he would continue doing the newspaper's crossword puzzles.
Those, Arnault conceded, "are excellent."
Write to Nick Kostov at nick.kostov@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 27, 2026 16:14 ET (20:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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