- Bernard Arnault has overtakenBill Gates as the world’s second-richest person,Bloomberg reported.
- Arnault made his fortune running French luxury conglomerateLVMH.Business Insider previously reported that the luxury goods sector has boomed in 2019, thanks to increased demand inChina.
- According toBloomberg, Arnault currently has a net worth of $108billion.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Bill Gates has been ousted from his long-held spot as the world’s second-richest person,Bloomberg reports.
After shares of his company’s stock surged on July 16, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault is now more than $200 million richer than Gates, according to theBloomberg Billionaires Index. It’s the first time in the Index’s seven-year history that Gates has ever ranked below the No. 2 spot,Bloomberg reported.
Arnault now has a net worth of$108 billion, compared to Gates’$107 billion, according toBloomberg.
Forbes is more conservative in its estimates of the French billionaire’s fortune, ranking him behind both Gates and Warren Buffett with a net worth of $103 billion.
Read more:Bernard Arnault just keeps getting richer. French billionaires have made more money this year than their counterparts in any other country, and they partially have China to thank
Arnault’s fortune stems from his 97.4% stake in Christian Dior, according toBloomberg. Dior owns 41% ofLVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Fendi, and Celine. Gates made his fortune after cofoundingMicrosoft. Gates owns 1.3% of the software maker,Bloomberg reports.
Business Insider previously reported that Arnault’s net worth has had a meteoric rise as the luxury goods sector booms due to increased demand in China. Other French billionaires includingKering’s Francois Pinault andL’Oréal’s Francoise Bettencourt Meyers have benefited as well, but none as much as Arnault.
In March, Arnault overtook Warren Buffett as the world’s third-richest person,Business Insider previously reported. And in June, Arnault became theworld’s third-ever centibillionaire, with a personal fortune over $100 billion.
Source: Read Full Article
