BackAmazon's Jeff Bezos loses richest billionaire tag to fashion tycoon
Arnault, one of the leading authorities in global fashion, runs LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and oversees 70 brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora
PremiumFashion tycoon Bernard Arnault has surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk to become the richest billionaire in the world. According to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List, Arnault had a net worth of $199.1 billion on Thursday. Meamwhile, Bezos' real time net worth stood at $193.8 billion, while that of Musk was $184.7 billion.
Arnault, 72, is one of the leading authorities in fashion around the world. The billionaire runs LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world leader in luxury goods. The company oversees 70 brands, including Louis Vuitton, Moët, Fendi, Christian Dior, Givenchy and Sephora.
LVMH saw strong revival in sales and profits during the first six months of 2021 after shaking off the pandemic-induced slump last year. The group's reported 10-fold increase on annual basis in its bottom-line net profit soared at 5.3 billion euros ($6.3 billion) between January and June this year. First-half revenues were up by 53 per cent on a 12-month basis, outpacing analysts' expectations.
LVMH shares rose 2.4 points to $697.10 by 1:10 pm GMT on Thursday, taking the company market cap to $352.22 billion.
Earlier this year in January, Arnault closed a $15.8 billion deal for renowned American jeweler Tiffany & Co. This is believed to be the biggest luxury brand acquisition ever. In 2019, LVMH shelled $3.2 billion for luxury hospitality group, Belmond, which owns or manages 46 hotels, trains and river cruises.
Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos' net worth suffered a hit last week as Amazon shares fell after reporting second quarter earnings. Despite the investors sentiments, Amazon results were far from being unimpressive. The retail behemoth posted $113 billion revenue and 7.8 billion profit. It just didn't meet market expectations.
Both billionaires went back and forth for the top spot on the Forbes rich list between May and June as
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