Louis Vuitton boss Bernard Arnault overtakes Elon Musk as World’s richest man

Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of luxury brand LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, has surpassed Tesla CEO Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person, according to Forbes real-time billionaires list.

Currently, Arnault has a net worth of $207.6 billion, higher than Musk’s $204.7 billion. According to the list, Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and chairman, is the world’s third richest person, with a net worth of $181.3 billion. 

Arnault and Musk have been fighting for the top spot for over two years now. In late 2022, Arnault gained the top spot after the tech stocks witnessed a sell-off owing to weak global macroeconomic indicators.

The recent surge in Arnault’s net worth, a $23.6 billion increase on January 26 alone, can be attributed to the company’s healthy quarterly results. It posted a 10 per cent rise in its quarterly sales. The company’s stocks rose after the results were announced on January 25.

On the other hand, Musk’s net worth fell by $18 billion.

At 11th rank, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, continued to be the richest Indian on the list with a net worth of $104.4 billion. 

Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, ranked 16th on the list with a net worth of $75.7 billion. The Adani Group’s shares have been in focus since it came under regulatory scrutiny after the US-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused it of misappropriation of funds and stock manipulation, last year.

Shiv Nadar, ranked 42nd globally, was the third-richest Indian with a net worth of $34.8 billion.

Other people who featured in the top 10 ranks were Oracle Founder Larry Ellison, Meta Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet, Alphabet Co-founder Larry Page and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-chair Bill Gates.

Source: Business Standard