LVMH Corporate Philanthropy

LVMH pursues an innovative and ambitious corporate philanthropy policy in support of the arts and culture. A pillar of the vision for LVMH articulated by Bernard Arnault, this commitment is pursued with a long-term perspective. Support for a wide range of initiatives serving the general interest resonates with the creativity, excellence, innovation and desire to perpetuate unique skills and heritage that inspire the entrepreneurial spirit of all LVMH Maisons and unify them.

LVMH has since the early 1990s developed a broad philanthropy program with a focus on several areas, notably promoting and sharing culture – with a special emphasis on youth – renovating and enriching historical heritage and supporting contemporary artistic creation. Support for more than 60 major exhibitions in France and around the world – from London to New York and from Shanghai to Moscow – has enabled millions of visitors to experience defining moments in the history of art and discover seminal artists who have changed the way we look at the world. In addition to past masters such as Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Klein, Poussin, Cézanne or Giacometti, these events have also celebrated contemporary artists including Richard Serra, Annette Messager, Cindy Sherman, Olafur Eliasson, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Gerhard Richter, Christian Boltanski and others.

An exceptional donation in 2019 of 200 million euros to help save and restore Notre Dame de Paris after it was ravaged by a terrible fire, is one of the more recent and most prominent examples of our commitment to preserving, enriching and promoting historical heritage. Within the scope of its corporate philanthropy actions LVMH has established close relations with leading cultural institutions in France and around the world. LVMH provided support for the exhibition “Les Tables Royales en Europe” at the Château de Versailles, enabling the acquisition of several national treasures, including the writing table made by Riesener for Queen Marie-Antoinette, and a silver jug given to Louis XIV by the King of Siam. LVMH’s patronage also enabled restoration of the Africa, Crimea and Italy rooms in the château, as well as the Réchauffoir in the Queen’s Hamlet.

For more than 25 years LVMH has supported a broad cultural program for youth, art education and encouraging young artists. Nearly 50,000 students from Paris music conservatories have been able to attend exceptional concerts during the Paris season thanks to the “1,000 seats for youth” program. And for many years LVMH has enabled the “Orchestra at School” association to purchase musical instruments, letting hundreds of students learn to play an instrument across France. Young virtuosos have taken master classes with Seiji Ozawa thanks to the Group’s support for the International Music Academy, while loans of Stradivarius instruments from the LVMH collection currently allow virtuosos Renaud and Gauthier Capuçon and Daniel Lozakovich to express the full range of their talent on international stages.

Since 2014, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris has provided a permanent structure for the Group’s philanthropy commitments and helped make LVMH a prominent member of the international arts and culture community.