Is 85 a new 65? Bernard Arnault, CEO and chairman of French luxury group LVMH (LVMHF), certainly hopes. The 76-year-old billionaire once again demands shareholder expansion and he is about to retire. According to company documents, a proposal to amend LVMH’s bylaws and raise the age limit for its CEO and age limit for chairman positions from No. 80 to 85 proposals. This is not the first time Arnault has led LVMH for about 35 years to try to extend his time in power – in 2022, he successfully raised the company's CEO retirement age from 75 to 80.
LVMH owns Louis Vuitton, Dior (Chdry) and Tiffany & Co. The group's revenue last year was nearly 85 billion euros ($92.8 billion). Arnault is currently the fifth richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $170.9 billion, and once he finally stepped down, all of his five children were detained.
Arnault's four sons and one daughter are currently in roles in the father's luxury empire. His eldest son Antoine serves as the head of communication and image for LVMH, while Delphine is the CEO and chairman of Christian Dior Couture. Meanwhile, Frédéric was recently appointed CEO of Cashmere brand Loro Piana. Alexandre and Jean serve as director of Moët Hennessy and director of performance for Louis Vuitton, respectively.
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates also support late retirement
LVMH leaders have previously received support in the traditional retirement age of Warren Buffett, who turns 95 this year. Originally raising his retirement age to 80, the French billionaire reportedly received a letter from Buffett saying the new restrictions are still too low.
Buffett has been operating Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) for 60 years and has long praised his senior executives for their qualifications. At the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, he quipped: “Anyone who wants to retire at the age of 65 will be disqualified from being Berkshire CEO.” Investors' idea of ​​retirement is admired by billionaire Bill Gates, 69, who said last year that he wanted to follow Buffett's leadership and continue to work for two to three decades.
This approach is compared to the standard retirement age of 65 in the United States, and Blackrock chairman Larry Fink believes that the age should be increased. Fink pointed out in a 2024 investor letter that the pressure on the US Social Security Agency has increased due to the increase in retirement citizens, which is a kind of “a bit crazy” that the United States still adheres to the retirement era that originated in the Ottoman era.
France is having similar financial problems in France recently, with French President Emmanuel Macron raising the country's retirement age from 62 to 64 to allow the pension system to keep pace with retirees. However, French citizens do not seem to share Arnault's views after retirement. They quickly target billionaires like the head of LVMH, thinking they should take some responsibility for funding pensions. The protests eventually led to more than 100 French workers storming the Paris headquarters of LVMH in April 2023.
