Bernard Arnault, one of the richest men in the world and the head of a luxury-brand empire, has acquired a Rodeo Drive storefront for $85 million, sources told the Business Journal. The price is believed to be the highest on a square-foot basis ever in Los Angeles County.

Arnault, chief executive of Paris’ LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, paid $11,971 a square foot in an all-cash deal for the 7,100-square-foot building at 319-323 N. Rodeo Drive currently occupied by Montblanc and Celine, both high-end accessories retailers. The seller, Beverly Hills real estate firm New Pacific Realty Corp., purchased it four years ago for $34.5 million.

It is unclear what Arnault plans to do with the space. LVMH, which owns more than 50 high-end brands, including Louis Vuitton and Fendi, already occupies five properties on the posh Beverly Hills street.

New Pacific had been quietly marketing the property to select companies and made contact with Arnault in early November, according to sources familiar with the deal. The company was asking such a high price because the location, in the center of Rodeo Drive, commands some of the highest lease rates in the area.

The full story will appear in the Dec. 24 edition of the Business Journal.