Due to the Twitter controversy and the sharp decline in the price of Tesla’s stock, Elon Musk’s fortune has dramatically decreased. It has reduced its total net value, which peaked at $320 billion in November 2021, to $185.
According to a Forbes report, Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and new CEO of Twitter, temporarily ceded the title of world’s richest person to Bernard Arnault, the owner of LVMH. This occurred on Wednesday when Elon Musk’s net worth was estimated at $185.3 billion and Bernard Arnault’s increased by $185 billion.
They both currently have roughly the same wealth, only $200 million apart. As a result, Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault’s competition for the world’s richest person may be observed.
This is the second time in a day that Bernard Arnault has surpassed Elon Musk on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List as of December 8 (Thursday).
Following Jeff Bezos ($111.8 billion), Warren Buffett ($105.9 billion), Bill Gates ($105.3 billion), and Larry Ellison ($101.5 billion) in order of total net worth is Gautam Adani, who currently holds the third spot.
On September 16 of this year, Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, surpassed Bill Gates as the second-richest person in the world. As of September 16, 2022, Adani’s net worth was $155.7 billion, surpassing Jeff Bezos of Amazon, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List. Arnault, however, later passed for the position of second-richest.
Elon Musk’s Net Worth Plummets Sharply
Due to the Twitter controversy and the sharp decline in the price of Tesla’s stock, Elon Musk’s fortune has dramatically decreased. It has reduced its total net value, which peaked at $320 billion in November 2021, to $185.
Elon Musk first surpassed Amazon’s Jeff Bezos as the wealthiest person on September 27, 2021.
Who is Bernard Arnault who overtook #ElonMusk as world's richest person for brief period?#BernardArnault https://t.co/J4fEbLwp64
— Zee News English (@ZeeNewsEnglish) December 8, 2022
Bernard Arnault: Who Is He?
French billionaire Bernard Arnault, born in Roubaix, France, on March 5, 1949, is best known as the chairman and CEO of LVMH Mot Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the most significant luxury goods firm in the world.
Arnault earned an engineering degree from the École Polytechnique in Paris. He took over Ferret-Savinel, his father’s construction business, in 1971. Eight years later, he renamed the business Férinel Inc. and altered the company’s emphasis to real estate.
With Antoine Bernheim, general partner of the French bank Lazard Frères and Co., Arnault raised the $80 million required to buy Boussac Saint-Frères. This failing textile company held the Christian Dior design label plus $15 million of his funds.
Then, in 1987, Henri Racamier, the company’s chairman, extended an invitation to Arnault to invest in LVMH. By making investments through a joint venture with Guinness PLC, Arnault succeeded in ousting Racamier in 1990 and began luring several fashion brands into the LVMH fold, including Christian Lacroix, Givenchy, and Kenzo, as well as the leather goods companies Loewe, Céline, and Berluti, the jeweler Fred Joailler, the DFS group (the largest duty-free chain in the world), and the beauty retailer Sephora.
By hiring British fashion designer John Galliano to take the position of the legendary Hubert de Givenchy at the latter’s Parisian fashion house in 1995, Arnault became known throughout Europe as the person who revived French couture.
A year later, Arnault, branded by Women’s Wear Daily as the “Pope of Fashion,” transferred Galliano to Christian Dior and replaced him at Givenchy with the boisterous British fashion designer Alexander McQueen. A young American designer named Marc Jacobs was then engaged by Arnault to serve as the brand’s creative director.
That same year, LVMH bought the bulk of Jacobs’s eponymous clothing line. Even though all three designers eventually departed their jobs, by the beginning of the twenty-first century, Arnault’s fashion sense had rekindled interest in these established fashion firms.
As of 3.49 pm on Thursday (December 8), #ElonMusk's net worth was down to $185.4 billion due to a 3.21 per cent decline in #Tesla's shareshttps://t.co/y07SxpNP6H
— News18.com (@news18dotcom) December 8, 2022
Arnault kept acquiring high-end companies, including the renowned French department store La Samaritaine (2010), the Italian jewelry giant Bulgari (2011), and the time-honored American jeweler Tiffany & Co. (2021).
Additionally, he constructed the Fondation Louis Vuitton (2014), a modern art gallery by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry in Paris’ Bois de Boulogne. One of France’s highest honors, the Commander of the Legion of Honour, was given to Arnault in 2007.
Final Lines
Elon Musk, CEO of both Twitter and Tesla, has lost his top spot as the wealthiest person on the planet to Bernard Arnault, CEO of the parent company of luxury brand Louis Vuitton, LVMH.
As of 3:49 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, Elon Musk’s net worth had gone down by 3.21 percent to $185.4 billion. This is compared to Arnault’s current net worth of $186,6 billion.
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