Zucman tax: what is this proposed tax on high net worth individuals, which has been criticized by Bernard Arnault?

Aimed at taxing the wealthiest individuals, the Zucman Tax has recently been the subject of a heated exchange between Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, and its author, economist Gabriel Zucman. Rejected at the global level during the last G20 summit, the principle of this tax was the subject of a bill in France in the first half of 2025, which was adopted by the Parliament but rejected by the Senate.

The Zucman tax certainly provokes passionate reactions. And Bernard Arnault did not hesitate to express his negative views not only on the concept of a minimum tax on high net worth individuals, but also on its author, Gabriel Zucman.

“It is impossible to understand Mr. Zucman’s positions without remembering that he is first and foremost a far-left activist,” the CEO of LVMH sharply criticized in a statement to the Sunday Times published on Saturday, September 20. “As such, he puts his pseudo-academic expertise, which is itself widely debated, at the service of his ideology.”

Destroying the French economy

“This is neither a technical nor an economic debate, but a clearly stated desire to destroy the French economy,” he continued, adding that he did not “believe that the French political forces that govern, or have governed the country in the past, can lend any credibility to this offensive, which is deadly for our economy.”

The richest man in France and seventh richest in the world according to Forbes magazine, with a fortune of $154 billion, Bernard Arnault does not understand how Gabriel Zucman can “directly implicate” him when he is “certainly the largest individual taxpayer and one of the largest through the companies” he runs.

Gabriel Zucman’s response was not long in coming.

“Hello Mr. Bernard Arnault, feverishness does not justify slander,” he posted on Saturday evening on X, saying he was “very surprised by the caricatural nature of the ‘attacks’ against him.” “Your comments about me are irrational and unfounded,” he said.

Gabriel Zucman explained that he had “never been an activist in any movement or a member of any party” and that his “work as a researcher and teacher” was his “sole activity.” “Bernard Arnault is wrong to question my professional qualifications by referring to my ‘pseudo-academic competence. With the rise of Trumpism, I have seen this discourse denigrating knowledge and research flourish in the United States,” he added regretfully.