Five large families alone hold a quarter of the market capitalization of the CAC 40 – 25.5% precisely, or 460 billion euros, according to Euronext (owner in particular of the Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Milan stock exchanges). The total value of the CAC 40 is now 1,800 billion euros. These families are mainly found in the luxury sector: LVMH, Hermès, L’Oréal, Kering, and more recently the Del Vecchio family with the merger of the Italian optical giant and the French spectacle lens specialist Essilor. LVMH is the Arnault family; Hermès, three families, heiresses of the founder Thierry Hermès: Guerrand, Dumas and Puech; L’Oréal, the Bettancourts; and Kering (formerly PPR) the Pinault family.
>> Covid-19: how the great French fortunes got rich during the pandemic
Why do large families invest in luxury? Because it is the great French tradition. It’s historic. This sector has always been at the forefront with know-how, culture and excellence recognized worldwide. These skills are jealously maintained and transmitted over generations. Excellence has made these companies prosper each in their field, far from the large international shareholders who are often unknown.
These other shareholders are, for the most part, pension funds, investment funds, of which it is often difficult to know precisely the players who are pulling the strings. Many bosses of large CAC 40 groups (not family ones) do not know 100% who is behind this or that fund present in their capital. Among the so-called large asset managers, we find for example BlackRock, recently singled out for having tried to get their hands on the management of the pension system in France.
And then there are the states, first and foremost Norway, which today holds nearly 1.5% of the CAC 40. The very rich Norwegian state – a hydrocarbon rentier – invests its money in French stocks to finance its public pension system… a far cry from family businesses.