Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton, has dethroned Tesla CEO Elon Musk as the world's richest person, according to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires list.
Arnault and his family's net worth surged to $207 billion on Friday, January 26 after a $23.6 billion increase, pushing him past Musk's $204 billion.
This development comes on the heels of LVMH's share price soaring by over 12% at the close of business on Friday, fuelled by strong sales reports. Arnault, 74, oversees an empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora.
The French billionaire acquired the luxury brand for $16 billion in 2021, which was back then considered to be the most significant purchase ever. Arnault had then nominated two of his children to the company's board.
Who is the richest person as per Bloomberg Index?
However, Elon Musk retains the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. This despite Musk losing over $30 billion since 2024, which has narrowed the gap between him and Bezos.
Meanwhile, Africa's richest person, Aliko Dangote, has seen his net worth skyrocket to $22 billion after gaining over $6 billion, experiencing the fastest increase in years. Dangote's wealth jumped by over $1 billion in a single day on January 23, thanks to a bullish run in the share price of his Dangote Cement company.
At the beginning of January this year, Dangote's net worth was estimated at $15 billion. He briefly lost the title of Africa's richest man to South Africa's Johann Rupert.
Aliko Dangote's net worth
Data from the Bloomberg Billionaire Index shows Dangote earning over $1 billion on Tuesday, January 23, and $282 million the next day. The share price of Dangote Cement continued its bullish run at the Nigeria Exchange Limited.
