Bernard Arnault is the founder, chairman, and CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate. He is the father of five children and has placed each of his offspring in significant roles within the 25th most valuable company in the world, with a market cap of $372.44 billion. However, one family member is conspicuously absent from the business spotlight, his wife of 33 years, Hélène Mercier.
The Canadian-born concert pianist is a musician at heart and far from being a businesswoman, having masterfully maintained her lifelong passion for music. Music has shaped her since she was six, and playing the piano is now second nature to her. The same cannot be said about fashion, despite being married to the man behind LVMH. You will never see her adorned in luxury labels like Christian Dior or Louis Vuitton, even though her husband owns almost 75 of the world’s leading luxury brands.
Together, they have three sons: Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean. Alexandre, 32, is one of fashion’s youngest chief executives and the President of Rimowa. Frédéric has been the CEO of LVMH Watches since 2024, and Jean, the youngest, is the director of Louis Vuitton’s watch division. Their pianist mother has carved a unique artistic niche in the world of music and is frequently invited to perform with several European and North American orchestras. Let’s take a closer look at the warm, withdrawn, and wonderful better half of the fourth-richest man in the world.
An artist all the way
At an age when most kids are learning to read, Mercier, the daughter of a lawyer and a real estate agent, began her musical studies at the Vincent-d’Indy School of Music in Outremont, Canada. She continued at the Vienna Academy of Music and later studied at the Juilliard School. Out of her 64 years, music has been her companion for at least 58. Her talent has been showcased with the Prague Philharmonia, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and many others. It’s safe to say her talent has taken her to the far corners of the globe. This explains why she has neither the time nor the inclination to involve herself in LVMH’s operations.
Her life is split into two identities, as Madame Bernard Arnault, who oversees the $200 million Parisian mansion, and Hélène Mercier, the pianist. She shared with La Presse, “Music allows me to have a parallel life, different from my life with my husband and children. Most of the orchestra musicians I play with have no idea who my husband is, and I admit that one of the things I appreciate most about this life is the anonymity.”
A disciplinarian
When your two-hour performances take you to every corner of the world, a disciplined life becomes essential, and Mercier Arnault is no different. The Elle interview revealed she’s an early riser who puts in hours of daily practice. She begins her day with a hot pot of tea, followed by a few delectable croissants (after all, she lives in Paris!), and then shifts her focus to fitness, finding joy in activities like hitting the gym, jogging, and swimming. However, the exercise she finds most fulfilling involves her piano. As a concert pianist, she dedicates three to four hours every day to practice. She has also passed on her love of music to her children, although their careers align more with their father’s.
An author
Her love for music is evident not only in her performances alongside classical musician friends like Vladimir Spivakov, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Brigitte Engerer but also through her book Au fil des notes. The work shares her insights on music, her career, and her personal experiences. It even reveals her association with the late Princess Diana, according to La Presse. She met the beloved royal at the end of a concert in London, where a broken-hearted Mercier, after her sister’s sudden demise, confided in the princess. “It was the first time I had spoken about my sister’s suicide to someone outside my family, and through her gentleness, warmth, and compassion, Lady Di gave me hope again.”
A lover
Bernard Arnault and Hélène Mercier may be polar opposites in their career choices, but they are united by their love for music, especially the piano. The 75-year-old Bernard, who took classical piano lessons as a child, is referred to by his wife as “an amateur pianist of an excellent level.” Interestingly, in the Arnault household, no one except the French businessman and art collector is allowed to perform Chopin’s Nocturnes (a collection of 21 solo piano pieces composed by Frédéric Chopin).
Mercier Arnault shared in an excerpt with Elle, “I give about twenty concerts a year: two hours on stage require several hundred in preparation, between rehearsals and travel. I have lunch at home with the children, all three of whom are also musicians; their father regularly comes to kiss us… but I suspect he mainly wants to check that no one dares to play HIS Chopin nocturnes, which he is the only one allowed to perform, which makes us laugh a lot!” The love is evident in how the devoted wife speaks about their home life. Few people know that the couple first met over dinner at a friend’s house in late 1990.
Hélène shared, “It was in Paris in October 1990, at a dinner with friends. Well, more precisely, at the end of the dinner. That evening, I didn’t want to go out, but I gave in to the insistence of Ivry Gitlis, who came to pick me up at home around midnight. Half an hour after I arrived, Bernard offered to take me home.” The rest, as they say, is history, albeit a lesser-known one, as the head of the luxury empire and the celebrated musician are fiercely private.
An uncanny queen
Being the life partner of the richest man in France, worth $173.5 billion, comes with its perks, whether or not you are involved in generating that wealth. For the mother of three, the biggest perk is likely their luxurious $200 million residence in the heart of Paris’s artistic Left Bank. The home reflects the refined taste of “the wolf in a cashmere coat” and houses a magnificent art collection. This collection includes works by household names such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso, as well as pieces by Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan, French post-war Nouveau realist Yves Klein, and Yorkshire sculptor Henry Moore.
The family also owns Château Cheval Blanc, a renowned vineyard and winery in the Bordeaux region known for producing some of the world’s finest wines. It’s rumored that Bernard Arnault also owns Indigo Island, a private island in the Bahamas, serving as a luxurious retreat for the family. And if all else feels mundane, there’s the $150 million superyacht, the 344-foot Symphony, which doubles as a summer home, complete with a pool, an automatic pop-up golf tee, a bar, and a Jacuzzi. It wouldn’t be surprising if the six-decker yacht has a piano tucked away somewhere.
While women like Nita Ambani and Lauren Sanchez make headlines alongside their partners and attract the business spotlight, Hélène Mercier shines quietly, carving her own path with grace and artistic passion, independent of her husband’s monumental empire. If this refreshing independence isn’t truly inspiring, what is?
Note – Bernard Arnault’s net worth, as per Forbes, and LVMH’s market capitalization, as per LVMH.com, are based on data as of September 9, 2024.
