New Jersey USA (Global News)_It’s not easy being rich especially if you’re constantly watching your back. That’s what happened to Tesla Founder and CEO of SpaceX and Twitter Elon Musk when he found himself dethroned as the world’s richest man. CEO of LVMH Bernard Arnault pipped him in the race to make it to the top of the Forbes’ 2023 Billionaires List. That spot is nothing new for the 74 year old Frenchman who did it last year to Musk as well.
The fashion industry executive has a net worth of USD 211 billion and oversees a luxury portfolio of over 70 brands. Given that these brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Tiffany’s, Marc Jacobs, Sephora and Fenty Beauty command top dollar across the globe, the fact that Arnault amassed an impressive 53 billion to his net worth in the last year is not surprising.
Arnault, who made it to the Forbes Billionaires list way back in 1997 when he had a net worth of USD 3.1 billion, made it to the top five in 2011. However, while he has played second or third fiddle to Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the past three years, in 2022, he was first past the post claiming top spot when he was accounted to having USD 31 billion more than Musk.
The head of LVMH for about three decades, it was Arnault who helped springboard the revenue levels of the luxury brand from USD 4 billion 1989 to a whopping USD 86 billion in 2022. Company stocks soared 35 per cent as a result. A visionary who has blended the old with the new, he cemented the long-standing respect customers had for the legendary design houses of Louis Vuitton and Dior, but expanded with new modern luxury brands including Rhianna’s Fenty Beauty to stay relevant to contemporary trends.
In second place this year is Musk whose net worth totals USD 180 billion, Jeff Bezos who is worth 114 billion in third spot and Chairman of Oracle Larry Ellison with USD 107 Bn coming in thereafter.
The Forbes’ World Billionaire list ranks those who have a net worth of USD 1 billion or more. The annual rankings conducted by American business magazine Forbes was first published in March 1987.
