Bernard Arnault loses $12.5 billion after Trump’s 200% tariff threat on French wines
The fortune of Bernard Arnault—Europe’s richest person—fell by $12.5 billion on Tuesday after President Donald Trump threatened to impose 200% tariffs on French wines and champagnes, sending shares in his luxury goods conglomerate LVMH plummeting.
Shares in Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy listed in Paris fell more than 3% to $663 on Tuesday after Trump issued the threat on Monday night.
LVMH owns several key French luxury spirits brands such as Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Château Cheval Blanc, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, and Château d’Yquem.
Trump issued the tariff threat on Monday night when reporters in Miami asked him about French President Emmanuel Macron’s alleged refusal to join his Gaza Peace Board.
At first, Trump said that “nobody likes him” on the council, but then added: “I will put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes and he will join.”
The threat comes just days after the president announced that he would impose a broad 10% tariff on imports from eight European countries due to their refusal to back his push to take control of Greenland.
