Bernard Arnault, the world’s richest man, has seen his fortune surpass $200 billion for the first time.
The founder of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH now has a net worth of $201 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the wealth of the planet’s 500 richest people in real time.
Arnault, who serves as LVMH’s chairman and CEO, controls about half of the luxury goods giant. He became its majority shareholder in 1989.
The company’s portfolio of brands includes Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, and Dom Perignon champagne. Arnault’s five ultrawealthy children, who all work at LVMH brands, are vying to one day take over his luxury empire.
Rising stock
Arnault’s wealth, largely derived from a 97.5% stake in fashion house Christian Dior—which controls almost half of LVMH, according to Bloomberg—saw a boost of $2.42 billion on Tuesday as shares of both companies continued on the upward trajectory they had enjoyed in recent days.
Both firms’ stock have gained more than 20% since the beginning of 2023, with LVMH shares soaring to a record high on the back of record earnings and a leadership reshuffle.
The rally has helped lift Arnault’s fortune by more than $39 billion so far this year, Bloomberg’s figures show.
At the end of 2022, Arnault surpassed Musk to become the world’s richest person, as Tesla shares suffered a major selloff in the wake of Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter. He had briefly overtaken Musk just a week earlier, becoming the first European to take the top spot on Bloomberg’s list.
The two men switched position between the first and second spot in the ranking within a 48-hour period earlier this year, but recent changes in their respective net worths have widened the gap between their fortunes.
After seeing his net worth drop by $1.4 billion thanks to market moves on Tuesday, Musk is currently worth an estimated $176 billion, according to Bloomberg, still making him the world’s second-wealthiest person.
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett round out the ranking’s top five.
Earlier this week, Forbes gave Arnault the number one spot on its annual billionaires list for the first time ever.
According to the publication’s own real-time wealth tracker, which uses a slightly different methodology than Bloomberg’s, Arnault has a net worth of $228.5 billion.
