New Dior boss Delphine Arnault is daughter of current owner Bernard

She is the new boss of Christian Dior. But Delphine Arnault is hardly a stranger at the French luxury fashion house she will now run.

For the 47-year-old, whose promotion was announced yesterday, just happens to be the daughter of the owner.

Bernard Arnault is the world’s richest man, with a £147billion fortune.

He is the co-founder and chairman of the LVMH conglomerate that owns the Louis Vuitton, Moet and Hennessy brands as well as Dior.

Mr Arnault has appointed Delphine, oldest of his five children, as his heiress apparent as he tightens the family’s grip on the £345billion luxury goods empire.

However, the man nicknamed ‘the wolf in cashmere’ for his ruthless approach has signalled he has no intention of standing down soon – the group recently raised its age limit for chief executives from 75 to 80.

All his children have major roles at the firm’s brands.

Mother-of-two Ms Arnault, who begins her new role on February 1, has been executive vice-president of Louis Vuitton since 2013 and was previously Dior’s managing director.

Mr Arnault has appointed Delphine, (pictured in 2015) oldest of his five children, as his heiress apparent as he tightens the family’s grip on the £345billion luxury goods empire

A highly-respected, serious, and extremely hard-working businesswoman, Delphine has degrees from graduated from EDHEC Business School in Lille and the London School of Economics, where she was head of student organisations. 

She grew up mostly in Lille, but spent three years in the US when her family moved to New York.

She received her first Louis Vuitton bag, a brown Noe handbag, for her 18th birthday.

Her career began in the late 1990s at consultancy firm McKinsey, where she worked for two years, and she moved to Dior in 2000.

She was credited with keeping the brand afloat in 2011 following widely publicised revelations of an anti-Semitic outburst in Paris by its British creative director John Galliano that led to his sacking. 

Mother-of-two Ms Arnault, (right) who begins her new role on February 1, has been executive vice-president of Louis Vuitton since 2013 and was previously Dior’s managing director. Ms Arnault is pictured with Paul McCartney (centre) and his wife Nancy Shevell (left) in 2019

Ms Arnault (pictured with her father in 1992) was credited with keeping the brand afloat in 2011 following widely publicised revelations of an anti-Semitic outburst in Paris by its British creative director John Galliano that led to his sacking

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Arnault described her managerial style as ‘quite calm’. 

But she added: ‘I’m very competitive. At everything. I like competition, it’s fun.’

Ms Arnault married Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, heir to an Italian wine dynasty, in 2005.

Her wedding was a significant event for the French elite and was named by Harper’s Bazaar magazine as the wedding of the year. 

She wore a gown designed for her by Galliano which took 1,300 hours to make.

The couple divorced five years later and she is now in a relationship with French billionaire Xavier Niel.

Xavier, who is almost a decade older than his wife, is the co-owner of Le Monde newspaper and the 21st richest person in France with an estimated fortune of €8 billion.

In 2013 he spent £41million on a free coding school in Paris as well as nearly £250million on Station F, the world’s largest start-up laboratory that houses 1,000 start-up companies.

And in 2020, he admitted he was a teenage spy who hacked the mobile phone of President Mitterrand. 

Ms Arnault, said to be a very private person who dislikes media intrusion, gave birth to her daughter Elisa in August 2012 and her son Joseph in September 2016.

She previously told the FT: ‘I’m quite discreet.

‘I think I’d rather focus on my work. So, I only speak when I have something to say. ‘Live hidden, and live happy’.’

In 2014, she set up the LVMH young fashion designer award. 

She is also said to enjoy a close relationship with her father and is a talented pianist, having played between the age of five and 20. 

And while Arnault keeps a low profile on social media, her siblings are active on Instagram, offering a glimpse into the family’s luxurious lifestyle.

Delphine and her father have regularly been pictured with the likes of Rihanna, whose company Fenty was founded under the LVMH umbrella, and Paul McCartney. 

The family have a host of celebrity friends; tennis fanatic Bernard and his sons are often pictured training with Roger Federer and other snaps show them mixing with Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour and Pharrell Williams. 

Delphine Arnault and her husband Xavier Niel, 52 attend the French Open on June 9, 2019

Pictured: Delphine and her husband meeting French President Macron during a state visit of Grand-Duc Henri of Luxembourg, Grande-Duchesse Maria Teresa of Luxembourg on March 19, 2018

As would be expected, the jetset family has a large property portfolio and divides their time between a number of the world’s most exclusive neighbourhoods.

Arnault’s primary Paris residence, a 17th century mansion, is filled with some of the world’s finest art, according to Bloomberg, including works by Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso.

He also owns two chateaus in France and another mansion in Saint-Tropez.

In 2000, Arnault purchased Nyn Park, a large estate about 30km north of London and built a 4,300 square metre home.

He also purchased an island of 54 hectares in the Bahamas, with a price tag of $35 million, a Brussels apartment and over 25 wineries around the world.

Singer Rihanna, who owns makeup brand Fenty, founded the label under LVMH in 2019. Pictured with Delphine and Bernard Arnault

Delphine and Bernard Arnault attend the Stella McCartney show during Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 in October with Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell

Announcing Ms Arnault’s promotion yesterday, her father, who founded what is now LVMH in 1987 and overtook Elon Musk last year to become the world’s richest man, said: ‘Under her leadership, the desirability of Louis Vuitton products advanced significantly, enabling the brand to regularly set new sales records.

‘Her keen insights and incomparable experience will be decisive assets in driving the ongoing development of Christian Dior.’

Ms Arnault is also a member of the board of directors of LVMH and of its executive committee.

LVMH has another connection to a fashion boss with a mega-rich father – Sir Paul McCartney’s daughter Stella. The designer has collaborated with the brand on luxury fashion and a skincare range.

Ms Arnault is also a member of the board of directors of LVMH and of its executive committee. Pictured in 2021 from left to right: Delphine Arnault, Bernard Arnault, Antoine Arnault and his wife Russian model Natalia Vodianova

Leaders passing the baton to family members is not uncommon.

Last year Marta Ortega Perez took over from her father Amancio Ortega, Spain’s richest man, as chairman of the world’s biggest fashion group Inditex, which owns Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius. She started aged 22 as a sales associate at Zara on the King’s Road in London.

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which includes Sports Direct and House of Fraser, installed his son-in-law Michael Murray as chief executive last May.

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