Bernard Arnault, the billionaire CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which encompasses renowned brands like Louis Vuitton, has surpassed Elon Musk to become the world’s wealthiest individual.
Forbes magazine reported that Arnault and his family’s net worth experienced a remarkable increase to $207.8 billion, marking a $23.6 billion surge on Friday.
In contrast, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk held a net worth of $204.5 billion, as noted on Forbes’ real-time billionaires list.
LVMH’s market capitalization reached $388.8 billion on Friday, while Tesla’s market cap stood at $586.14 billion.
As per the Forbes real-time billionaires list, the top 10 richest individuals globally are:
- Bernard Arnault & Family ($207.6 billion)
- Elon Musk ($204.7 billion)
- Jeff Bezos ($181.3 billion)
- Larry Ellison ($142.2 billion)
- Mark Zuckerberg ($139.1 billion)
- Warren Buffett ($127.2 billion)
- Larry Page ($127.1 billion)
- Bill Gates ($122.9 billion)
- Sergey Brin ($121.7 billion)
- Steve Ballmer ($118.8 billion).
Recently, LVMH reported a 10% increase in fourth-quarter sales, driven by robust demand, especially from Chinese consumers, for its high-end fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Tiffany. The luxury group’s sales for the final quarter amounted to nearly 24 billion euros ($26 billion).
The fashion and leather goods division of LVMH, encompassing major labels like Vuitton and Dior, witnessed a 9% sales growth during the quarter, just below the anticipated 10% growth. LVMH also reported sales growth in perfumes, cosmetics, watches, and jewelry, with only the wines and spirits unit experiencing a 4% decline for the full year.
During the annual general meeting, the 74-year-old Arnault announced that his sons, Alexandre (31) and Frederic (29), would be proposed to shareholders for inclusion on the board.
