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LVMH, the French luxury goods group behind Louis Vuitton and Moet & Chandon champagne, has become the first European company to hit a $500bn (£400bn) market value thanks to booming demand among the rich for its high-end brands.
Shares in LVMH closed up 90 euro cents (0.1%) to €902.00 (£798.30) on Monday giving the company – whose roster includes Christian Dior, Stella McCartney, TAG Heuer watches and Bulgari and Tiffany jewellery – a market capitalisation of €454bn, or half a trillion dollars.
LVMH shares have soared by 30% so far this year propelling it into the top 10 of the world’s most valuable listed companies.
The new valuation puts the stake held by its chair and chief executive, Bernard Arnault, at $212bn – cementing his position as the world’s richest person, $47bn ahead of Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, in second place.
Earlier this month LVMH reported a 17% increase in first quarter sales, more than double analyst expectations. Last year it achieved record sales of €79.2bn and has begun a €1.5bn share buyback programme.
Luxury rival Hermès, the maker of £5,000-plus Birkin and Kelly handbags, reported a 23% jump in first quarter sales earlier this month. Other luxury goods companies including Kering (which owns Balenciaga and Gucci) and Burberry have also seen their share prices soar.
Arnault, who co-founded the luxury goods group 35 years ago, recently appointed his children to key roles within the business. In January, his eldest child, Delphine, was nameeeed the head of Christian Dior, the second-biggest brand in the empire.
Her brother Antoine was promoted to run the holding company that controls LVMH and the Arnault family fortune.
His three younger children also have important jobs within the company. Alexandre Arnault is an executive at Tiffany, Frédéric Arnault is the chief executive of TAG Heuer, while their youngest sibling, Jean Arnault, heads marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton’s watches division.