Who is Bernard Arnault, the New Richest Person in the World?
LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault has reportedly overtaken Elon Musk as the world's richest person.
Elon Musk lost his title as the richest man in the world after the value of Tesla—one of the tycoon's companies—plummeted in the stock market. The billionaire recently sold about $4 billion worth of shares in the company and had sold another $15.4 billion worth of shares earlier this year. As a result, Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of the LVMH Group, is now the richest man in the world.
The 73-year-old Frenchman, according to Forbes and Bloomberg, has a wealth valued at $170.8 billion. Arnault keeps a low profile and is known for his work in the luxury fashion and liquor industry. An engineer by training, Arnault entered the luxury goods market in 1987 when he co-founded the LVMH Group, the luxury conglomerate behind Moet & Chandon, Hennessey, Veuve Clicquot, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Celine, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Guerlain, Loewe, Bulgari, Tag Heuer, Tiffany & Co., Sephora, and more. Valued at $329 billion, LVMH is the most valuable company in Europe.
Over the years, Arnault has also incorporated his own children into the business: Delphine Arnault is the Director and Vice-President of Louis Vuitton; Antoine Arnault is the Vice-Chairman and CEO of Christian Dior; Alexandre is the Executive Vice-President of Tiffany & Co, Frédéric is the CEO of Tag Heuer; and Jean is the Director of Marketing and Development at Louis Vuitton.