By
AFP
Published
May 7, 2025
Donald Trump was the host of the luxury giant chief LVMH, Bernard Arnault, in the White House on Tuesday when the group faces a dent in the sales of the tariffs of the president of the United States.
The richest man in Europe, whose signature produces Louis Vuitton and Champagne bags of Dom Perignon, made a surprise appearance in the Oval office with his son Alexandre.
“Bernard, it is an honor to have you. We will have a meeting after this,” Trump said, pointing to the French during the swear ceremony for the special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff.
The Arnaults also attended an earlier event at the White House about preparations for the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-elusted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The jeweler Tiffany, another LVMH firm, designed the FIFA World Club Championship, which will also take place in the United States in 2025.
A quarter of LVMH sales come from the United States, which means that it is especially vulnerable to tariffs.
He saw sales in the first quarter of 2025 fell by two percent to 20.3 billion euros ($ 23 billion) in the first quarter, since Trump's rates shook the global economy.
Arnault and two of his children were among the prominent figures at Trump's inauguration in January. He said in February that he did not want to talk about tariffs and that “I would prefer to try to act calmly.”
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