French businessman Bernard Arnault he is the new richest man in the world. Behind him was Elon Musk, owner of Twitter and head of Tesla, who lost ground on the annual Forbes list by selling shares in his electric car company to buy the social network in a $44 billion multibillion-dollar deal.
The new leader of the “table” is the owner of the empire Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH). The executive director of the conglomerate is 73 years old and treasures $185.4 billiona figure “slightly” higher than that of the South African tycoon, who owns it 185.300 million.
In July of this year, the CEO of LVM extension reported a net profit of 6.5 billion euros in the first half, 23% more than in the same period of 2021, which had already been called a record.
“LVMH is having a great start to the year,” Arnault said in July 2022 according to a press release.
“We face the second half of the year with confidence, but in the current geopolitical and health context we will remain vigilant”, he specified.
Group sales, which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Celinehas reached the 36.7 billion euros in the first half of 2022, 28% more than in the first half of 2021.
Musk, on the other hand, lost half of its value on the stock exchange (-56%) in 2023, or more than 500,000 million dollars. The Tesla leader had been at the forefront of this Forbes fortune ranking since September 2021, when he surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Who is Bernard Arnault?
“I consider myself an ambassador of French heritage and French culture. What we create is emblematic. He is linked to Versailles, to Marie Antoinette ”, Arnault defines himself in a section that Forbes has dedicated to him.
The Roubaix-born mogul oversees more than 70 fashion and cosmetics brands with LVMH, including those mentioned above and others such as Sephora Y tiffany&co.purchased in January 2021 for a record $15.8 billion.
After succeeding his father in his public works company, his first big financial bet was the purchase in 1985 of the group Boussacowner of Christian Diorfor 90 million Swiss francs.
Arnault has five children and is married to 62-year-old Canadian pianist Hélène Mercier-Arnault.
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.