Bernard Arnault overtakes Elon Musk to become richest man in the world

Elon Musk has been dethroned.

Lately, several factors have put his status as the richest man in the world at risk.

And Bernard Arnault’s net worth has just surpassed his by a staggering amount.

READ MORE: How much $1,000 invested in Tesla stock today may be worth in 2027

Elon Musk ended 2023 on a high, increasing his bank account by $100 billion in just one year.

This was a pleasant surprise for the billionaire, who suffered a few financial setbacks in 2023.

The delayed release of the Cybertruck, its high production costs and the fact that it won’t be available in Europe made it a less profitable venture than expected.

And yet, despite setting a few world records for the most money lost in the shortest amount of time, Musk remained the world’s richest man with a net worth of $250.4 billion.

Until.last week, that is.

A few days ago, his long-time contender for the title, Bernard Arnault, managed to overtake him.

Musk and Arnault have been neck and neck for years, with Arnault beating Musk’s net worth in December 2022.

There is no beef between the two though, with the businessmen even enjoying a lavish lunch together recently.

As the CEO of LMVH, Arnault owns several major luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer and Tiffany & Co.

To maximize his family’s wealth, Arnault employs his children, with four of them serving on the company board.

LMVH had a major boost when it bought Tiffany & Co. for nearly $16 billion in 2021.

The company also owns a venture capital firm which has investments in Netflix and TikTok.

These investments are clearly paying off, as Arnault’s net worth increased by $23.6 billion on Friday.

LMVH’s shares were up by over 13%, while Tesla’s dropped by the same amount.

This meant the EV company lost $18 billion of its value.

Currently, Musk is worth $204.5 billion while Arnault is sitting just above him at $207.8 billion.

Thanks to Musk’s successful SpaceX endeavours, however, experts say that he’ll bounce back and is still set to become the world’s first trillionaire.

So you don’t need to feel too sorry for him just yet.