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- Bernard Arnault is the CEO and founder of the luxury conglomerate LVMH.
- He currently has a fortune of $197 billion making him the world's richest person.
- The title often bounces between Arnault, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, has once again become the world's richest person with a fortune of $197 billion, snagging the title from Jeff Bezos.
The Amazon CEO spent less than a week at the top spot, a title he regained for the first time since 2021. As of Thursday, his fortune has been eclipsed by Arnault by only $1 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index.
Arnault, Bezos, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are the three richest people and have often traded the crown.
Until last week, Musk was the world's richest person but his fortune has since dropped to $189 billion as Tesla stock declined. Preliminary data from the China Passenger Car Association indicated that the company had achieved its lowest month of sales in China last month.
Arnault serves as the CEO and chair of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH.
Since he cofounded the company in the 1980s, he's built his fortune by amassing a range of luxury companies across fashion, jewelry, watches, perfume, and alcohol, including well-known brands Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, and Dom Pérignon.
His 97.5% stake in luxury fashion house Christian Dior accounts for most of his fortune, per Bloomberg.
In 2023, he appointed his daughter, Delphine Arnault, CEO and chair of Dior, and he has all four of his other children working across LVMH and its brands.
In 2022, Arnault, who is 75 years old, raised the company's mandatory retirement age to 80, giving him another five years to decide who will take over his luxury empire.