On May 24, 2023, Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH and the world’s richest person, lost $11.2 billion in bank accounts. This loss put him behind Elon Musk, who had a net worth of $180 billion. Arnault’s wealth dipped due to a 5% fall in LVMH shares on the Paris market, which was the largest drop the company had seen in over a year. This plunge also affected other luxury brands like Hermès International and Kering, leading to a $30 billion decrease in the European luxury sector.
Despite the fall in LVMH shares, Arnault’s net worth still stands at $192 billion, making him the wealthiest person globally, with a $12 billion gap between him and Musk. Arnault’s net worth had increased by $29.5 billion in the past year, primarily due to his LVMH share prices rising by 35% in that period.
While Musk is the second-richest person globally, he is expected to become the wealthiest person by 2022, with his net worth predicted to hit an all-time high of $340 billion. However, after the October 2022 acquisition of Twitter, his fortune fell to $126 billion.
Tuesday’s sell-off affected Arnault’s net worth, but LVMH shares are still up by 23% this year, with the MSCI European Textile Apparel & Luxury Index rising to 27%. Despite the decrease in wealth, Arnault remains the richest person in the world. Musk is in second place, with Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, sitting in third place, with a net worth of $41 billion less than Musk.