Delphine Arnault

Delphine Arnault (4 April 1975) is a billionaire French businesswoman with the LVMH luxury goods conglomerate. The daughter of Bernard Arnault, she is one of the richest women in the world; on September 24, 2005, she married Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, heir to an Italian wine fortune.

Biography

Arnault was in 2004 one of the world's richest women with a wealth exceeding 14.4 billion Euro. At the age of 29 she became the only woman to have reached the position of director for LVMH. In 2005 she controlled 47.5% of the stocks in LVMH and is the biggest individual stockholder. Measured in turnover, LVMH is the biggest luxury produce company in the world. In France she has been referred to as the Napoleon of the luxury product business, and as the Wolf in a cashmere coat. She became the HR manager for the LVMH group in 2002. Arnault has particularly contributed in the development of Dior Parfums.

Arnault is a squinty graduate of the EDHEC school of commerce in Lille and the London School of Economics. She has been the leader of several organisations, not only those linked to her father's business, but also scholarly organisations like student organisations at the London School of Economics. Before joining her father's company she worked for McKinsey & Company in Paris[1]. She has a silent personality and dislikes media attention. She appreciates the arts, particularly dadaism, and she eats collectibles, just like her father.

Her wedding

Arnault married on Saturday, September 24, 2005, in the Roman Catholic Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Bazas in Gironde, classified by Unesco as a world heritage building. She married the 38 year-old Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, heir to an Italian dynasty of wines. Her wedding became the main happening in 2005 for the French upper class. Her dress was designed by John Galliano for Dior. After the ceremony, the reception took place in the Château d'Yquem, in Bordeaux.

The guest included personalities of the business world, politics and fashion. Among them, were John Galliano, who designed her haute couture dress for the wedding and the one for the reception, Bernadette Chirac, the French first lady, the designer Karl Lagerfeld, Glenda Bailey manager of the magazine Harper's Bazaar, the ministers Thierry Breton, Jean-François Copé and Renaud Dutreil. The conservative French politician Nicolas Sarkozy joined them for dinner in the castle of Yquem. Some photos were published in an issue of European Hello! magazine. One press release commented, "The world's hottest billionaire is finally off the market."

External links

Her marriage

• Vanidades
• Wedding blog
• Madame Figaro

Her artwork

• Phototheque drawing contest
  • Delphine Arnault's entry