Bernard Arnault, Chairman of the French luxury goods giant LVMH, gave a wide-ranging interview before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, discussing his relationship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Musk is currently the world's richest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of $244 billion, and Arnault ranks behind Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $185 billion.
Arnault said that he and Musk will have lunch together with French President Emmanuel Macron and watch the Olympics.
"I greatly admire what he is doing," Arnault said of Musk. "To have such success in a car company is completely unexpected. He is a genius, and his rockets are also so successful. It's incredible."
Arnault revealed that he and Musk had discussed the possibility of collaborating on the development of a branded rocket ship between their two most well-known brands, Louis Vuitton and SpaceX.
"We talked about the idea of building a rocket, and maybe there's a way to put Vuitton in the rocket," Arnault added, joking that if it really happened, he feared Musk would send him to space.
In the interview, Arnault also revealed that before Apple decided to open retail stores, then-CEO Steve Jobs had asked him for advice on how to create a good retail experience.
Arnault suggested that Jobs focus on the location, even suggesting that it would be helpful to follow in Louis Vuitton's footsteps.
"He was very interested in this suggestion. The first one he did was in Tokyo, right in front of our store," Arnault said.
"As it turns out, it was a huge success," Arnault added.