Bernard Arnault, the French billionaire and CEO of luxury conglomerate LVMH, overtook Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person on Thursday after shares in his company surged nearly 1.5% in morning trading in Europe.
With an estimated net worth of $210.1 billion, Arnault has overtaken the Tesla CEO, whose fortune is $208.6 billion.
Arnault’s wealth rose $7.7 billion on Thursday as LVMH’s shares jumped 1.45% to $830 (€763.50).
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5.5%. That is how much LVMH shares have risen since the start of the year. In comparison, Tesla shares—which make up about one-third of Musk’s fortune—are down nearly 30% since the start of 2024.
After taking back the second place spot from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in May, Musk vaulted past Arnault later that month after his artificial intelligence startup xAI raised $6 billion at an $18 billion pre-money valuation. After the latest funding round, Forbes estimates Musk’s stake in xAI is worth $14.4 billion.
