Elon Musk has once again earned the title of the planet’s wealthiest individual, surpassing LMVH’s chief, Bernard Arnault.
The net worth of the Tesla entrepreneur skyrocketed by $55.3bn (£44.44bn) since the beginning of the year, reaching $192bn (£153.24bn), driven by the appreciated value of his electric vehicle enterprise, Tesla.
In contrast, the wealth of Mr. Arnault has diminished by $24.5bn (£19.55bn), landing at $187bn (£149bn), according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
Trailing behind are Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, securing the third and fourth ranks respectively.
In the previous year’s December, Mr. Arnault, at 74 years old, had surpassed Mr. Musk, who was 51 at that time, in the wealth ranking when LMVH shares experienced a surge as the demand for luxury items recovered.
However, concurrently, Tesla stocks – the main source of Mr. Musk’s wealth – plummeted drastically due to speculations that his acquisition of Twitter was interfering with his leadership.
Nevertheless, Tesla’s shares have recovered remarkably, escalating by approximately 92% since the year began as investor confidence stabilized and Mr. Musk announced his successor as the CEO of Twitter.
His current business discussions in China regarding Tesla have fueled anticipation, meanwhile, the car company is benefiting from the growing interest in artificial intelligence.
Conversely, LMVH – the owner of prestigious brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior – has been experiencing a downturn.
After reaching its all-time high in April, its shares have experienced a significant drop and have decreased by 16% since the onset of the year.
Mr. Arnault, a co-founder of the luxury goods gian in 1987, possesses the majority ownership of the enterprise, recognized as the most prestigious firm in Europe.
In a notable move earlier this year, Mr. Arnault assigned his daughter, Delphine Arnault, 47, as the head of Dior, his fashion enterprise, marking a significant change at LMVH.
All five of Mr. Arnault’s children hold executive roles within different brands of the conglomerate.
As per Bloomberg’s records, Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos holds the title of the third richest individual in the world, boasting a fortune of $146bn. The co-founder of Microsoft, Mr. Gates, holds a net worth of $126bn.
