Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world's richest person, surpassing Bernard Arnault, the CEO of luxury goods company LVMH. Musk's net worth has surged by $55.3 billion since January, reaching $192 billion, primarily due to the increased value of his electric car company, Tesla. In contrast, Arnault's fortune has decreased by $24.5 billion, now standing at $187 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, hold the third and fourth positions, respectively.
Arnault briefly surpassed Musk on the rich list in December when LVMH's shares soared amidst a rebound in demand for luxury goods. However, Tesla's shares experienced a decline during that period due to concerns over Musk's involvement with Twitter and its impact on his leadership. Nonetheless, Tesla's shares have since rebounded by nearly 92% as investor confidence returned, and Musk announced his successor as CEO of Twitter.
Musk's recent visit to China to discuss Tesla and the growing interest in artificial intelligence have generated excitement around the company. On the other hand, LVMH, which owns renowned brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, has seen its shares decline by 16% since the beginning of the year after reaching a record high in April.
Bernard Arnault, who co-founded LVMH in 1987, holds a majority stake in the company, making it Europe's most valuable firm. In January, he appointed his daughter, Delphine Arnault, as the head of Dior as part of a broader restructuring at LVMH. Notably, all five of Arnault's children hold management positions within brands under the LVMH group. Jeff Bezos ranks third on the billionaires list with a fortune of $146 billion, while Bill Gates has a net worth of $126 billion.