Billionaire Bernard Arnault Warns Of ‘World Catastrophe’ If Iran War Is Unresolved

BreakingBusinessBillionaire LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault Warns Of ‘World Catastrophe’ If Iran War Is UnresolvedByTy Roush,Forbes Staff. Ty Roush is a breaking news reporter based in New York City.Follow AuthorApr 23, 2026, 09:47am EDTApr 23, 2026, 09:55am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ToplineBillionaire LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault on Thursday warned the Iran war could result in a “world catastrophe” if left unresolved, a rare comment from one of the world’s richest people on the conflict, as luxury brands have reported a slowdown in demand in recent weeks. Luxury brands cited a slowdown in demand throughout the conflict, disrupting earnings. Getty ImagesKey FactsArnault, who spoke Thursday during LVMH’s annual shareholder meeting in Paris, said the world is “now in a pretty serious crisis in the Middle East” and warned the Iran war could spiral into a “world catastrophe with very serious and very negative economic impact,” according to a translation by LVMH.Should the conflict persist, Arnault said it would be impossible to predict the outcome, but noted a resolution would allow businesses to recover and “resume their normal course.”LVMH last week reported the Middle East conflict had a 1% negative impact on organic growth through its latest quarter, citing a slowdown in tourist spending throughout Europe, and chief financial officer Cécile Cabanis said during an earnings call there has been an up to 70% decline in demand since the war began in late February.Shares of LVMH, which trade at the Euronext Paris stock exchange, dropped slightly (0.2%) as of Thursday morning. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.elements.video/player.js?cid=62cec...