Arnault beats Musk as world’s wealthiest person

By Aya El Sayed On Jan 28, 2024

Bernard Arnault, with three of his sons, from left: Antoine, Jean, and Frédéric in Paris. Credit: Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times.

The French billionaire, Bernard Arnault, and his family amassed a wealth of $207.6 billion, surpassing Elon Musk’s $204.7 billion, according to the Forbes Real Time Billionaire List on Sunday.

Bernard Arnault manages the LVMH empire, which consists of 75 brands in fashion and cosmetics, such as Louis Vuitton and Sephora.

In 2021, LVMH acquired the American jewellery company Tiffany & Co. for $15.8 billion, marking the largest acquisition in the luxury brand sector to date.

Agache, Arnault’s holding company, supports Aglaé Ventures, a venture capital firm with stakes in companies like Netflix and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.

In July 2022, Arnault suggested a restructuring of his holding company, Agache, to distribute equal shares among his five children, who are all employed at LVMH.