Who Is Next LVMH CEO? Bernard Arnault Evaluating His 5 Children's Capabilities For Succession: Report

Bernard Arnault, the world's richest person and the owner of luxury conglomerate Möet Hennesy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), appears to be preparing his five children to take over the family business.

The French billionaire often gathers his four sons and daughter for a 90-minute lunch in a private dining room at LVMH's headquarters in Paris, where he drills his children on company strategies and performances across more than 70 brands owned by LVMH, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

During these monthly lunch sessions, Bernard evaluates his children's abilities, potentially auditioning them to succeed him as CEO of the $480-billion luxury brand empire that owns Louis Vuitton, Dior, Sephora Tiffany and Bulgari. These meetings reportedly serve as part of his long-term plan to prepare his children for the succession and ensure a smooth transition of power.

"The reality is that most of the money is in the company," the LVMH boss told The Telegraph. "It's certainly not the kind of money that means that I could tomorrow go buy whatever I want or go to the casino and go mad."

There has been significant conjecture over which sibling was in the best position to assume the business from their 74-year-old billionaire father in the future.

While all five children have key roles across LVMH brands, industry insiders are considering his eldest and only daughter Delphine as the front-runner in the race after she took over as the CEO of Christian Dior in January. Like her siblings, Delphine, 47, has undergone stringent training to prepare for the senior post at the second-largest brand in the empire.

Other potential contenders include his son Antoine Arnault, 45, from a first marriage, who manages the holding firm overseeing LVMH and the family's fortune. Frederic, 28, is the CEO of TAG Heuer, while Alexandre, 30, is an executive at Tiffany. Lastly, Jean Arnault, 24, handles the marketing and product development for the watch department of Louis Vuitton.

Delphine and Antoine are also on the group's board of directors.

Bernard previously stated that he would choose his successor on merit, but he didn't reveal the details regarding his next-in-line.

However, Sidney Toledano, CEO of LVMH's fashion arm, claims Bernard may not even consider any of his children to succeed him in the company.

"At no moment did he [Bernard] tell me, 'I must prepare my children for my succession. For now, they all get on great," Toledano told the WSJ.

Meanwhile, Bernard continues to monitor his children's progress in the company, with both Toledano and Michael Burke, the former chief of Louis Vuitton, playing a major role in mentoring them.

Bernard, who has been running the company since 1989, recently increased the retirement age of LVMH's chairman and chief executive from 75 to 80, according to the New York Post.

"If I'm still working now, it's because every single morning when I sit down to work, I'm enjoying myself," Bernard said last year.

Bernard overtook Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to become the world's richest person this year. His current worth is estimated to be over $240 billion, according to Forbes estimates, $67.1 billion more than Musk's $173.3 billion wealth. A majority of Arnault's wealth is acquired from a 97.5% stake in Dior's holding company, which controls 41.4% of LVMH.

At $484 billion, LVMH's market value surpassed that of Tesla's, the firm led by the world's second-richest person Elon Musk on Tuesday for the first time in several months.