The owners of Chanel, Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, paid themselves a dividend of US$3.4 billion in 2016, according to a report published by The Guardian. The sum is double that paid out in 2015 and amounts to four times the company’s net profit.

Accounts released by Chanel International peg revenue at US$5.67 billion for 2016, down from US$6.24 billion in 2015. Net profit plunged 35 percent to US$874 million and net operating profit dove 20 percent to US$1.3 billion.

However, sales grew sharply in the second half of the year, according to the company’s annual report, with organic growth of 11 percent.