Mr Arnault is the world's richest person, with a net worth of around $214bn (£171bn). Photo: Stephanie Lecoq/Reuters
Bernard Arnault's sprawling business empire has filed a series of lawsuits against Visa and Mastercard amid an ongoing dispute over credit card fees.
More than a dozen luxury brands are part of LVMH French billionaire conglomerate has filed lawsuits against US payment giants in the High Court.
The plaintiffs include such big names as Tiffany & Co, Christian Dior and Bulgari, as well as the Belmond hotel business, which operates the Venice-Simplon Orient Express.
All brands are owned by Paris-listed LVMH, which is ultimately controlled by Mr Arnault, the world's richest man with a net worth of about $214bn (£171bn).
Details of the case are yet to be revealed are not disclosed. be made public, although the claims are believed to be related to a long-running battle over so-called interchange fees.
These fees are paid by retailers to banks when they accept card payments through Visa or Mastercard.< /p>< p>However, the companies have long argued that the fees charged by the two payment providers are anti-competitive, cost them billions of pounds and lead to higher prices for consumers.
This has led to separate lawsuits from companies such as Vodafone. , Ocado, Fortnum and Mason, all of which are in various High Court proceedings against Visa and Mastercard.
Their claims will be heard at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in November.
Visa and Mastercard have aggressively defended their cases in various courts and countries, arguing that fees are regulated and designed to reflect the value provided by electronic payment networks.
The issue has also raised concerns among consumers. class action against companies worth around £10 billion.
Mastercard called the claims «fundamentally flawed» and said they should be dismissed.
Since 2015, Interchange Fees have been capped at 0. 2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards.
LVMH, Mastercard and Visa declined to comment.
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