No, LVMH has mastered the subtle art of tight rope walking that is the modern luxury industry. The trick is to be a mass market company while keeping the margins of a luxury company and preserving your image as a luxury company.

If you look at the Vuitton catalogue, you will indeed see products which would definitely be seen as luxury goods: the best Italian leathers, costly assembly techniques, products painstakingly handcrafted in places known for their mastery of the craft. All of these a pretty decor to sell perfumes with global appeal (read uninteresting) and overpriced handbags.

This is a bit reductionist. The price stands on a foundation of quality. You can build something excellent and charge 100x what it took to make it, but you can't do that with shitty product.

On the other hand, LVMH doesn't lie to you about their products. The handbag is a handbag. The bottle of champagne is a bottle of champagne. They tell you in great detail how it's made, where and by whom, and if you think it's worth it, you can buy it for the asking price.

It makes for an interesting contrast with the previous holder of the title of world's richest man, Elon Musk.

I'm an occasional customer of both Tesla and LVMH. The rare times I've bought a bottle of Krug or Dom Pérignon, it has never let me down. The product was exactly what they promised. But with Tesla, my prevailing mood is a lingering disappointment that I was stupid enough to pay $7500 for a "Full Self Driving" package which four years later still doesn't do anything.

I know Musk has lots of fans, but eventually lies will catch up to you. Arnault doesn't have this problem.