World's richest man auditions 5 children over 90-minute lunches to pick a successor: Report

The richest person in the world, Bernard Arnault, has reportedly been auditioning his five children to run his luxury empire LVMH. The French billionaire gathers his four sons and a daughter for a 90-minute lunch once a month inside a private dining room at the headquarters of LVMH where he asks each of his children for advice on topics prepared beforehand, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Arnault seeks an opinion on specific managers at the company, effectively auditioning his adult children to see who will take over the luxury empire which currently spans from the Champagne vineyards of France to handbag-making workshops in Italy and Texas. LVMH's portfolio of brands includes Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Tiffany, Sephora, TAG Heuer, and Dom Perignon champagne.

As per The Wall Street Journal, these monthly sessions are part of the 74-year-old billionaire's decades-long plan to prepare his children who will take over LVMH after him. Bernard Arnault has said that his successor would be chosen on merit but has given no indication of who it might be.

Currently, all his children hold important positions within the luxury company. Delphine, the eldest child and only daughter, was named the head of the second-largest brand in the empire Christian Dior, the publication reported. Her brother Antoine was given the position of managing the holding firm that oversees LVMH and the family's fortune. Frederic Arnault is the CEO of TAG Heuer and Alexandre Arnault is an executive at Tiffany while the youngest, Jean Arnault, is in charge of marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton's watch department.