The Observatory of Inequalities, which published its report on the rich in France this Wednesday, June 5, compared the ten largest fortunes to the value of housing in major French cities. The result is “astronomical”.
“Nard-Bé Arnault, mucho dinero (a lot of money), yo (Me), I love you (i love you) “. The declaration of love in Spanish to the boss of LVMH, number one of the ultra-rich of France, is signed by rapper Booba. We do not know if Bernard Arnault loves luxury and money as much as the singer from Hauts-de-Seine, also the richest department in France, but the punchline of the “Duke” had the merit of making “children laugh”. It’s 2015 and, since then, the businessman has boosted his wallet to compete for world leadership with Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos.
More seriously, according to the Observatory of Inequalities, which published this Wednesday June 5 its report on the rich in France, professional assets, which in the case of Bernard Arnault cover all the shares of the LVMH group, correspond to the value of all accommodation in Marseille and Nantes. That is to say the modest sum of 203 billion euros, without taking into account his personal fortune or the works of art accumulated.
145 billion euros to buy Marseille
To estimate the value of cities, the Observatory of Inequalities calculates the number of housing units, multiplied by the average French surface area (82 m2) and the average price per m2 from the city. For Marseille, this gives a total bill of 145 billion euros.
In second position, we find the Hermès family, with its 138 billion euros, equivalent to housing in Lyon. Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, with Chanel, complete the podium with a fortune which corresponds to the real estate of the city of Nice (100 billion euros).
In this top 10, we also find François Pinault (7e), whose fortune represents the value of housing in Reims (31 billion euros) or Emmanuel Besnier, of the dairy group Lactalis, who, with 14 billion euros, could afford the real estate stock of a city like Perpignan , 122,000 inhabitants at the last census.
An “astronomical” result
Through this comparison, the authors of the report illustrate the fact that the rich are always richer in France, as elsewhere in the world. Millionaires represent 5% of French households while the top 1% have at least 2.2 million euros per household. But the ultra-rich exceed all standards. So much so that the result is “astronomical”smiles Louis Maurin, director of the Observatory of Inequalities. “These are evaluations which are orders of magnitude because it makes no sensehe explains. Bernard Arnault’s own fortune via LVMH is so gigantic that it is virtual. If he sold everything, it would cause a stock market crash. And then, the cities of Marseille and Nantes are not for sale. »
The minimum wage, this other order of magnitude
To accumulate as much as Bernard Arnault, a person paid the minimum wage – 1,390 euros net full-time in April 2024 – would have to work twelve million years and save everything they earn. Another order of magnitude that the authors of the report use to compare the salaries of big French bosses.
Thus, the five highest paid bosses of the 120 largest companies listed on the Paris Stock Exchange receive remuneration, from which taxes are not deducted, which is difficult to imagine.
Bernard Charlès, the general director of Dassault Systèmes, receives 33 million euros per year, or 2,111 years of minimum wage. François-Henri Pinault, CEO of the luxury group Kering, receives 14 million annually, or 877 years of minimum salary. He closes this top 5 which also includes Julien Daniel (Téléperformance), Carlos Tavares (Stellantis) and Philippe Guillemot (Vallourec).
