France’s richest man and LVMH boss Bernard Arnault slams proposed billionaire tax

PARIS – Bernard Arnault, the boss of luxury goods group LVMH and France’s richest man, has attacked a proposed 2% tax on billionaires as an assault on France’s economy and denounced the plan’s architect as a far-left ideologue.

The tax, which would target wealth above 100 million euros ($117 million), has gained political traction in France, where Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faces pressure from the Socialist Party to include it in the 2026 budget or face a confidence vote that could topple his government.

“This is clearly not a technical or economic debate, but rather a clearly stated desire to destroy the French economy,” Arnault told Britain’s Sunday Times.

He accused the plan’s architect, economist Gabriel Zucman of being “first and foremost a far-left activist” who uses “pseudo-academic competence” to promote an ideology aimed at dismantling the liberal economic system, which Arnault described as “the only one that works for the good of all”.

Zucman, a professor at France’s École Normale Supérieure and the University of California, Berkeley, rejected the accusations.

“I’ve never been an activist for any movement or party,” he said on X, adding his work was grounded in research, not ideology.

Zucman was among 300 economists who publicly backed the economic platform of the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire alliance ahead of last year’s legislative elections.

He has recently argued in media appearances that the ultra-rich pay proportionally less tax than many other citizens — a gap the proposed levy aims to close.

The tax has broad public support, with an Ifop poll commissioned by the Socialist Party this month showing 86% approval. — Reuters