A $110 Billion jump - Louis Vuitton makes Bernard Arnault the richest man on Earth.

On 26 May 2021, Bernard Arnault, the chairman and chief executive of LVMH – Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, surpassed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to become the richest man on Earth with a net worth of $186.3 billion, $300 million more than Bezos.

This came as a pleasant surprise to people as his estimated net worth in March 2020 was $76 billion. A whopping increase of $110 Billion had everyone pondering as to how the French entrepreneur was able to secure this coveted title, if only for a day. But it shouldn’t come across as a surprise to people since LVMH has been growing economically and prospering at another level over the past years.

LVMH is a French multinational company and conglomerate which specializes in luxury goods. According to various reports, LVMH is the most successful company across Europe, with a revenue of $329 billion. It has 60 subsidiaries which, in turn, manage 75 huge brands which each amass a major part of LVMH’s annual revenue.

These brands include highly prestigious ones like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs, Fenty, Bulgari and many more. In January of 2021, LVMH finalized a deal for the American jewel company Tiffany & Co. for approximately $15.8 billion. Just in 5 years, the price of one share in the enormous MNC has increased from 145.25 euros in 2016 to 648.40 euros in 2021.

While these figures demonstrate the success and prosperity of the fashion and luxury giant, what exactly goes on behind the closed doors at this MNC? And how are the employees at this luxury giant treated?

As of 2020, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy employs around 163,000 people from around the globe. The average employee earns around $45964 every year and the employees have barely raised their voices against unequal or unjust pay. In 2017, however, the world witnessed something on the contrary.

In April of 2017, numerous workers at the company’s ateliers across France staged a walkout to demand an increase in wages. As first reported by Agence France-Presse, the walkout, which lasted an hour, began with employees gathering in front of production facilities at 7:30 am. According to union representatives from Force Ouvrière and the Confèdèration Française Démocratique du Travail, the workers were provoked to stage the protest after ‘protest after a wage increase offer from Louis Vuitton management failed to meet expectations.’

As stated in various reports obtained by the New York Times, the company, in its proposal had readily offered a raise of about 30 euros ($31.95) per month which, in turn, was quite lower than the original €55 requested by the workers. Moreover, the management was also prepared to offer an extra 10 to 20 euros a month for about 80% of the workers.

This protest which was undoubtedly witnessed by the whole world came as quite a surprise to those who had kept a close eye on the company’s progress in the previous year. In 2016, Louis Vuitton posted record results that indicated a total sale of about 37 billion euros. Moreover, sales from the MNC’s fashion and leather goods reportedly rose by 8.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2016, amounting to 3.78 billion euros.

While the matter between Louis Vuitton’s management and its workers has settled back in 2017 itself, it was quite unnatural and interesting to see such a huge luxury and fashion company experience a controversy of this nature.

As regards Bernard and his billionaire status, it can be said that he is no stranger to being the richest man under the sun. In December of 2019, he surpassed Jeff Bezos for a brief period to become the richest person on Earth. Furthermore, in January 2020, Forbes named him as the world’s richest person for a short period. In mid-2020, Arnault’s net worth reportedly sunk by $30 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic which leads to a decline in the sail of fashion and luxury goods. In 2021, a rise in the sale of luxury goods across China and other parts of Asia made him earn this coveted title.

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