Chanel’s Billionaire Owners Reap Massive Dividends, Boost Wealth and Diversification

Over the past three years, the billionaire Wertheimer family, owners of the luxury brand Chanel, have accumulated $12.4 billion in dividends, significantly boosting their personal wealth and supporting their diversification efforts beyond high fashion. Meanwhile, Chanel recently announced the departure of Virginie Viard, the artistic director who had been with the brand for three decades and took over after Karl Lagerfeld’s death in 2019.

Chanel’s Cayman Islands-based holding company, controlled by the Wertheimers, is set to receive a record $5.7 billion dividend for 2023, the highest annual payout since the company began publishing its results in London six years ago. This follows dividends of $1.7 billion for 2022 and $5 billion for 2021, according to company filings. The Wertheimers benefit from a favorable tax structure: the Cayman Islands does not tax local business dividends, and the UK typically does not impose withholding taxes on dividends paid from British firms to overseas entities.

These substantial payouts have contributed to a 19% increase in the Wertheimer family’s net worth over the past year, bringing their total wealth to $108 billion. Since the 2021 dividend, their net worth has grown by approximately 26%, as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Brothers Alain (75) and Gerard (72) own equal shares in the closely held company, which they inherited as grandsons of one of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s original business partners.

The Wertheimers belong to an elite group of French billionaires whose fortunes have surged thanks to booming luxury goods and cosmetics sales. This group includes Bernard Arnault, founder of LVMH and the world’s richest person, L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, and the family behind Hermes International.

Despite a recent slowdown in the luxury sector for some brands, Chanel has managed to thrive, with revenues increasing by 16% last year to nearly $20 billion. Chief Financial Officer Philippe Blondiaux indicated that 2023 could see “more significant investments in real estate” for the brand.

In addition to the gains from Chanel, the Wertheimer family’s investment firm, Mousse Partners, has been diversifying their portfolio. Last year, the firm, led by half-brother Charles Heilbronn, participated in taking Rothschild & Co. investment bank private. Mousse Partners has also invested in various startups, including Brightside Health, digital advertising firm Brandtech Group, biotechnology company Evolved by Nature, and healthcare provider Thirty Madison.

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