LVMH billionaire Bernard Arnault appoints his daughter to head Dior

Bernard Arnault, the richest person in the world, has named his eldest daughter, Delphine, to lead Christian Dior, the second-biggest brand in his LVMH luxury goods empire.

The reorganization comes after an extraordinary year for Arnault, in which the 73-year-old's personal fortune surpassed that of American entrepreneur Elon Musk, while that a surge in the LVMH share price pushed the combined value of Paris-listed companies above London.

Arnault cements family control over a company that he co-founded 35 years ago, in a move seen by many in the fashion industry as setting up a succession battle between Delphine, 47, and her brother Antoine, 45, who was promoted last month to head the holding company that controls LVMH and the Arnault fortune of $178bn (£147bn ste rling).

However, the competition could extend to Arnault's five children. Delphine and Antoine, from his first marriage to Anne Dewavrin, now occupy the top positions at LVMH. But his three children with his second wife, Hélène Mercier, also hold important positions within the largest luxury goods company in the world, which also includes brands such as Stella McCartney, TAG Heuer, Bulgari and Tiffany.

Alexandre Arnault, 30, is an executive at Tiffany, Frédéric Arnault, 28, is managing director of TAG Heuer, while the youngest, Jean Arnault, 24, heads up marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton's watch division.

Some analysts have compared the competition between the Arnault children to that of Rupert Murdoch's offspring or that of the Roys in the hit series Succession.

Luca Solca, an analyst at investment firm Bernstein, said Arnault was creating a "Darwinian competition" to succeed him as chief executive of LVMH, which he co-founded in 1987. The secret of its success, says Solca, is the invention of a paradox: "selling exclusivity by the millions".

The heirs could, however, wait a little before to take over the management of the family business, which last year amended the company's articles of association to allow a manager to continue to run the business until the age of 80, compared to the previous age. 75.

Arnault announced on Wednesday that Delphine, now executive vice president of Louis Vuitton, will become chief executive officer and president of Dior from February 1.

< p class="dcr-h26idz">"Under Delphine's leadership, the desirability of Louis Vuitton products has increased significantly, allowing the brand to regularly set new sales records," he said. “His insight and incomparable experience will be decisive assets in driving the continued development of Christian Dior. McKinsey firm and studied at the London School of Economics. She joined the LVMH Board of Directors in 2003, becoming the first woman and the youngest person to serve on it.

This appointment marks a return to the brand for which Arnault first worked in 2001, where she began working on shoes before becoming deputy general manager and liaising directly with John Galliano, then creative director of Dior.

She was credited with downplaying the fallout from Galliano's racist and anti-Semitic diatribes against people in a Parisian bar in 2011 that led to her being sacked and convicted of racism and anti-Semitism.

Delphine Arnault said she was not very exposed to family brands or extreme wealth when she was a child ant, but remembers being given a brown Louis Vuitton Noé bag (now retailing for £1,160) for his 18th birthday and attending his first lavish party when he was 21.

"I remember very well the 100th anniversary ceremony, in 1996. There was a big party and at the top of the room was Naomi Campbell coming on stage on a giraffe", he said. she says to...