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French luxury goods chairman Bernard Arnault becomes world's richest person

Paris Fashion RTW SS 23 Stella McCartney Front Row
Posted at 9:13 PM, Dec 14, 2022
and last updated 2022-12-14 23:13:13-05

The chairmans of French luxury goods giant LVMH, Bernard Arnault, has just ousted Tesla CEO Elon Musk from a top riches people list now becoming the world's richest person.

Arnault's net worth of $171 billion pushed Musk down to number two by Tuesday. Musk's net worth was recently set at $164 billion according to Bloomberg's Billionaire's Index.

Arnault had previously knocked Musk off the top spot on Forbes' "Real Time Billionaires" list.

Born in 1949 in Roubaix, France, Bernard Arnault is the chairman and CEO of the French conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, which is the largest luxury products organization in the world.

In 1971, Arnault took over a construction business ran by his father called Ferret-Savinel, later changing the company's name and focusing it on real estate.

In the years to come he would use millions of dollars of his own money to purchase a bankrupt textile business owned by Christian Dior.

In the late 80s Arnault invested in LVMH and would go on to take over other fashion businesses including Christian Lacroix, Givenchy, and Kenzo.

By the 1990s he was credited with revitalizing French couture.

He is known for keeping a somewhat low profile despite the high-profile brands that he leads.

In January 2021 his group completed a $15.8 billion takeover of U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co., making it the luxury industry's largest ever acquisition.