The Wall Street Journal

The French Billionaire Working His Trump Ties to Spare His Luxury Empire

It was a match made on Fifth Ave.—Bernard Arnault and the president go back decades. Can the LVMH chief now leverage that bond to fend off tariffs?

President Trump and Bernard Arnault arrived in Texas for the inauguration of a new Louis Vuitton workshop in 2019. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

The day after President Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania last summer, he received a call from a familiar French voice. It was Bernard Arnault, owner of the globe-spanning luxury empire LVMH.

Arnault wanted to check in on the man he had known for decades. Trump was also in the middle of a fierce presidential campaign, as well as several criminal proceedings.

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