On the evening of July 16, the topic “LV parent company head ordered to compensate $ 174 million in taxes” hit hot searches.
According to China, China, China, China, and China‘s integrated foreign media, Bernard Arnault, the richest man in France and head of LVMH, was recently ordered by the French authorities to pay 22.5 million euros (approximately 174 million yuan) in taxes after a legal lawsuit that lasted for many years.
A recent ruling by the Paris Court of Appeals showed that Arnaud and his wife were required to pay the French authorities an “additional contribution” of €12.96 million in 2010, including taxes, Social Security contributions, surcharges, and interest on retention fees, according to the AFP report by Singapore‘s Union Morning Post.
In addition, the Arnoux couple also had to pay the 2012-2015 French Wealth Solidarity Tax, totaling €9.5 million. The Arnoux side responded to the media on July 4 saying they would appeal the court decision to the Supreme Executive Court of France.
According to the Financial Times Chinese website, a spokesperson for Arnaud said LVMH is the most tax-paying company in France. The group‘s overall business also contributes more than 1% of France’s gross domestic product. The company‘s total income tax payment increased to about €5.5 billion last year, more than €300 million higher than 2024, according to LVMH‘s chief financial officer at a financial conference call.
The report pointed out that the tax dispute stemmed from a restructuring arrangement—Arno transferred LVMH-related shares to a Belgian holding company in exchange for shares in that Belgian entity. Several years later, when the company returned about 50 million euros to Arno through a reduction in equity, Arno argued that this amount should be considered a tax-free return of capital.
The Financial Times reported on the Chinese website that Arnaud has been publicly opposed to the proposal to impose a wealth tax. Last year, he attacked a proposal proposed by the renowned scholar Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie Zucman and pushed by left-wing political parties, calling it “fatal to the French economy”. The proposed “Zucman tax” failed to pass through the French parliament due to strong lobbying from the business community. The tax requires people with wealth over 100 million euros to pay a tax rate of at least 2% annually on all their assets, including their companies, company shares and unrealized earnings.
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index shows that Arnaud currently has a net worth of about $ 165 billion, is the richest man in France and Europe, and the eighth richest man in the world.