LVMH founder Bernard Arnault's fortune has fallen by $65 billion since the beginning of the year. For the first time, all ten places in the rankings are occupied by Americans.
Bernard Arnault: The French billionaire's fortune has recently declined. Photo: Bloomberg
New York. The richest European is no longer among the ten richest people in the world. The French luxury goods entrepreneur Bernard Arnault has fallen out of the top ten in a comparison by the financial news agency Bloomberg. This means that the rankings are now dominated by a purely American group – predominantly from the technology industry.
Arnault's fortune fell to $143 billion on Thursday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The founder of LVMH fell behind Warren Buffett, the 96-year-old philanthropist and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.
Elon Musk tops the list by a wide margin with a fortune of $918.8 billion. He is followed by technology entrepreneurs such as Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin and Michael Dell. For the first time since the wealth ranking began in 2012, all ten places are occupied by Americans.
Arnault's fortune has fallen particularly sharply since the beginning of the year. The 77-year-old lost $65 billion - more than anyone else among the world's 500 richest people. The war in the Middle East has taken a toll on its business and dampened demand in malls like Dubai for LVMH brands. These include the fashion brands Dior and Louis Vuitton, Tiffany as well as high-priced alcohol brands such as Dom Pérignon champagne and Hennessy cognac.
His luxury empire is also having problems in China, an important market. A trademark dispute with a local tea manufacturer is impacting sales there.
US billionaires are benefiting from the AI boom
The US billionaires, on the other hand, benefit from the development of the US stock markets. The S&P 500 is up 11 percent this year. Technology companies have significantly driven this development thanks to demand related to artificial intelligence.
Arnault was one of the ten richest people in the world as of March 22, 2017. As of December 2022, he was temporarily at the top of the rankings. He was the first person outside North America – and the only consumer goods entrepreneur – to reach the top spot.
At that time, Chinese consumers drove sales. Companies like LVMH also benefited from pent-up demand after the end of pandemic-related restrictions.
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LVMHChinaBerkshire HathawayJeff BezosSergey BrinDior
The company's stock reached a record high in April 2023. Since then, LVMH has suffered from weak demand for its products in countries such as China, uncertainty caused by US tariffs and declining alcohol consumption in some markets. Arnault's fortune is now just ahead of that of Walmart heir Jim Walton.
Succession is one of the most important questions surrounding Arnault and his five children from two marriages, all of whom work for the luxury goods company. At a general meeting in April everyone appeared together for the first time. When asked who would succeed him as CEO, Arnault did not give an answer.
More: These are the richest people in the world in 2026
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