Topline

Luxury goods mogul Bernard Arnault made his first ever post on social media Monday morning to amplify a three-page letter he addressed to leadership at Le Monde after the French newspaper—largely owned by his son-in-law—published a six-part expose about the billionaire and tensions among his potential heirs as a succession battle reportedly heats up.

Key Facts

Le Monde for published a six-day series about Arnault's luxury empire, his business acumen, political influence, control of media holdings, art patronage, taxation and, in the final piece published Friday, the succession battle among his five children.

On Sunday, his conglomerate LVMH posted a three-page response letter from Arnault—who rarely speaks directly to the media or the public—in which he pokes fun at the series and wryly combats the report.

He starts by mocking Le Monde's description of his family as "the last royal family of France” and sarcastically thanks the newspaper for devoting enormous resources—six months of reporting and six double-page spreads—to covering him.

He disputes claims about his political influence, business practices and family dynamics, and says the newspaper unfairly criticized him and LVMH for practices that are common among major French companies.

Arnault accused the newspaper of portraying other wealthy families (specifically the Wertheimers, who own Chanel) more favorably than his and refuted claims that a battle for his success was “the poison at the heart of LVMH.”

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“As for me, rest assured: I will continue doing Le Monde's crossword puzzles, which are excellent,” Arnault ended his letter, according to a Google translation from the original French.

What to watch for

What else the billionaire might say on social media. Arnault’s first, and only, X post to date was posted Monday morning in which he re-shared LVMH’s initial posting of his letter and said he was "deeply touched" by the public’s response.

SURPRISING FACT

Billionaire Xavier Niel, the main shareholder of Le Monde, is the partner of Arnault’s daughter, Dephine. The pair aren't married, but have been together since 2010.

FORBES VALUATION

Arnault—whose LVMH conglomerate includes Dior, Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Tiffany & Co and dozens of other luxury brands—is worth an estimated $142.4 billion, and is No. 9 on Forbes rich list as of Monday and the wealthiest person in France. His five children all work in leadership positions at LVMH. Neil, who owns telecoms giant Iliad, is worth an estimated $15.8 billion as the seventh richest person in France.

WHAT DID LE MONDE SAY ABOUT ARNAULT’S FAMILY?

In an article titled “The succession of Bernard Arnault, the poison at the heart of LVMH,” per a translation, Le Monde argues that Arnault, 77, has prepared all his five children to inherit his luxury empire and, in doing so, pitted the group against each other. Delphine (51), Antoine (49), Alexandre (34), Frédéric (31) and Jean Arnault (27) all have major leadership positions in the company and the newspaper claimed Arnault has encouraged competition, fostering a rivalry and competing factions rather than unity. It claims his children from different marriages have formed alliances among themselves to compete for succession and that LVMH shareholders have gotten antsy about the lack of a clear inheritance plan. Arnault rejected the portrayal.