Bernard Arnault, the world's third-richest person and the wealthiest outside the US, heads the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate.
LVMH owns iconic brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Moët-Chandon.
It owns 75 brands, or "maisons," which it splits into six divisions: wines and spirits; fashion and leather goods; perfumes and cosmetics; watches and jewelry; selective retailing; and other activities. The fashion and leather goods division makes up about half of its revenues.
Its most recent major acquisition was US jeweler Tiffany and Co., which it bought for $15.8 billion in 2021 following a lengthy dispute. It broke records for being the luxury sector's biggest-ever deal.
LVMH's brands collectively have more than 6,000 stores, including about 2,500 in Asia, more than 1,000 in the US, and more than 500 in France. LVMH has more than 200,000 employees and reported revenues of 86.2 billion euros ($92.5 billion) for 2023.
Arnault has been at LVMH's helm for decades.
In 1984, after working at his family's real-estate company, Arnault bought consumer goods and manufacturing company Agache-Willot-Boussac, which owned Dior and department store Le Bon Marché. Arnault turned the "hodgepodge" company into a "treasure trove," The New York Times reported in 1989. He renamed it Financière Agache and sold almost all of the company's assets.
Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy merged in 1987 to create LVMH. Arnault used the money from the sale of Financière Agache's assets to buy a controlling stake in the company, Bloomberg reported. In 1989, he became the conglomerate's majority shareholder, chairman, and CEO.
Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche
Le Bon Marché opened in 1852.
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Paris department store Le Bon Marché opened in 1852 and was acquired by Arnault when he bought luxury goods company Agache-Willot-Boussac in 1984.
Le Bon Marché is recognized as being the world's first department store. The Paris store is noted for its high-end retail and careful selection of goods across the store.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1984
Type of goods: Department store
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton is one of the brands that LVMH's name is derived from.
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Louis Vuitton, founded in France in 1854, is known for its leather products, which are usually heavily emblazoned with its "LV" logo. Ready-to-wear clothing generates about 10% of the brand's sales, Bloomberg reported.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1987
Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods
Hennessy
Hennessy is one of the brands that LVMH's name is derived from.
Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Hennessy
Hennessy, founded in 1765, is one of the most famous cognac brands in the world. The brand's headquarters are in Cognac, France, about a five-hour drive from Paris.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1987
Type of goods: Cognac
Moët & Chandon
Moët & Chandon is one of the brands that LVMH's name is derived from.
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Founded in 1743, Moët & Chandon has since become one of the most popular Champagne brands in the world. Visitors to its site in the Champagne region of France can tour the UNESCO World Heritage site's wine cellars, spread over about 17 miles of tunnels.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1987
Type of goods: Champagne
Dom Pérignon
Dom Pérignon was founded in 1668.
Photo by Getty Images For Moet & Chandon
Champagne maker Dom Pérignon, one of the oldest companies in LVMH's portfolio, was founded in 1668.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1987
Type of goods: Champagne
Givenchy
Givenchy created the little black dress Audrey Hepburn wore in the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
Photo by Christian Vierig/Getty Images
Givenchy, founded in 1952, is perhaps best known for creating the iconic little black dress Audrey Hepburn wore in the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
Year acquired by LVMH: 1988
Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods
Berluti
Berluti has made shoes for the Duke of Windsor, Jean Cocteau, and Andy Warhol.
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Menswear brand Berluti dates back to 1895, when Italian shoemaker Alessandro Berluti started making footwear in France. The brand has since made shoes for the Duke of Windsor, Jean Cocteau, and Andy Warhol, and expanded into leather goods in 2005 and ready-to-wear clothing in 2011, according to LVMH.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1993
Type of goods: Menswear, especially footwear
Loewe
Designer Jonathan Anderson is Loewe's creative director.
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Spanish fashion brand Loewe was founded in Madrid in 1846. Since 2013, Jonathan Anderson — founder of label JW Anderson — has been its creative director. Some of its flagship stores are in the CASA Loewe format, which LVMH says are "designed to feel like the townhouse of a sophisticated art collector."
Year acquired by LVMH: 1996
Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods
Sephora
Sephora's stores sell own-brand products as well as dozens of other lines.
Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider
Sephora operates hundreds of beauty stores selling items like makeup, skincare products, hair care items, and fragrances. Its stores sell own-brand products as well as dozens of other lines, including brands LVMH brands Fenty Beauty, KVD Beauty, and Ulta.
Designer Marc Jacobs founded the eponymous brand in 1984. Jacobs went on to become creative director of womenswear for Louis Vuitton between 1997 and 2013, leaving to focus on his own brand.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1997
Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods
Benefit Cosmetics
Benefit Cosmetics was founded by twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford.
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Benefit Cosmetics was founded by twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford in 1976 in San Francisco. LVMH says that it has more than 3,000 BrowBar Beauty Bars around the world and that a Benefit brow product is sold every two seconds.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1999
Type of goods: Cosmetics
Tag Heuer
Maria Sharapova has been an ambassador for Tag Heuer.
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The Swiss watchmaker was founded by Edouard Heuer in 1860 and given its present name after it was acquired by Techniques d'Avant Garde in 1985. From 2020 to 2024, the company's CEO was Frédéric Arnault, the second-youngest of Bernard Arnault's five children.
Ambassadors over the years have included Steve McQueen, Chris Hemsworth, Patrick Dempsey, and a number of sports stars, including tennis player Maria Sharapova.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1999
Type of goods: Watches
Fendi
Fendi was previously owned by both Prada and LVMH.
Photo by Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images
The 99-year-old luxury Italian brand is best known for its signature "F" print and was once led by legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld. Fendi was previously owned by both Prada and LVMH, until the latter bought out Prada in 2001.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2000
Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods
Fresh
Fresh makes natural products.
Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Fresh was launched in Boston in 1991 and is known for its expansive collection of natural skincare products.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2000
Type of goods: Cosmetics
Cheval Blanc
Cheval Blanc opened a hotel in Paris in 2021.
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Luxury hotel chain Cheval Blanc, created by LVMH, started with the opening of a boutique ski resort in Courchevel in the French Alps in 2006. It has since opened or acquired four other hotels in Paris, the Maldives, on Caribbean island Saint Barthélemy, and in French Riviera town Saint-Tropez.
Year created by LVMH: 2006
Type of goods: Hotels
KVD Beauty
KVD Beauty was founded by tattoo artist and model Kat Von D in 2008.
Photo by Tabatha Fireman/Getty Images for Kat Von D Beauty
The cosmetics line, which has also been known as Kat Von D Beauty and KVD Vegan Beauty, was founded by tattoo artist and model Kat Von D in 2008. Its designs are inspired by tattoo artistry, and the company says its name now stands for "Kara, Veritas, Decora" or "Value, Truth, Beauty."
The brand says it was cruelty-free when it launched and was reformulated to become fully vegan in 2016.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2008
Type of goods: Cosmetics
Royal Van Lent
Yachts made on the Royal Van Lent shipyard include the Ecstasea.
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The Dutch shipyard on Kaag Island dates back to the Van Lent family in 1849. It was awarded a royal charter in 2001.
The shipyard's roughly 300 workers launch on average two superyachts a year. It has also opened a shipyard in Amsterdam.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2008
Type of goods: Shipyard
Bulgari
LVMH acquired the brand from the Bulgari family in 2011.
Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Luxury jewelry brand Bulgari, founded in 1884, is known for its watches and diamond necklaces. LVMH acquired the brand from the Bulgari family in an all-share deal in 2011.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2011
Type of goods: Jewelry
Le Parisien
LVMH owns French tabloid Le Parisien.
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Le Parisien is one of the most notable tabloids in France, along with Le Figaro and Le Liberation. LVMH bought the 80-year-old daily newspaper and sister publication Aujourd'hui en France in 2015, and they had a print circulation of about 260,000 in 2023.
LVMH also owns the financial newspaper Les Echos, the monthly arts magazine Connaissance des Arts, and the French commercial station Radio Classique.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2015
Type of goods: Tabloid
Dior
Dior was previously owned by Bernard Arnault's private holding company.
Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images
LVMH acquired Dior in a $13.1 billion deal in 2017. Previously, the brand, which was founded in 1947, was owned by Arnault's Groupe Arnault.
Dior is best known for its gowns and handbags. Celebrities such as Rihanna, Rosalía, Jennifer Lawrence, and Anya Taylor-Joy have been faces of the brand.
Year acquired byLVMH: 2017
Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods
Fenty Beauty
Fenty Beauty is known for offering makeup in a wide range of shades.
Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 Presented by Amazon Prime Video
Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty, named after her last name, with LVMH in 2017, when she was 29. She launched a 40-shade range of foundations, which helped to revolutionize diversity in the beauty industry. The shade range has since expanded to 50 shades.
Rihanna also launched her clothing line Fenty with LVMH in 2019, but it closed just two years later.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2017
Type of goods: Cosmetics
Belmond
Belmond operates hotels, safari lodges, and luxury train services.
Horacio Villalobos/Corbis via Getty Images)
Belmond is a luxury travel company with 32 properties around the world and two safari lodges in Botswana. It also operates luxury train services, including the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which runs between London and Venice, the Royal Scotsman, and the Andean Explorer.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2019
Type of goods: Hotels
Tiffany & Co.
LVMH's acquisition of Tiffany & Co. was the luxury sector's biggest-ever deal.
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Following a lengthy dispute, which involved two lawsuits and LVMH threatening to pull out of the deal, the luxury conglomerate acquired US jeweler Tiffany & Co. for $15.8 billion in 2021. It broke records for being the luxury sector's biggest-ever deal.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2021
Type of goods: Jewelry
Dominic-Madori Davis contributed to an earlier version of this article.
