Billionaire Arnault loses spot as world’s second-richest person to Bezos

Bernard Arnault lost his spot as the world’s second-richest person as a selloff in luxury stocks pushed his net worth below that of Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos.

Arnault is founder and chief executive officer of LVMH, the French luxury powerhouse that includes brands such as Louis Vuitton and Moet & Chandon. His wealth has fallen by $6.8 billion since Wednesday, when the company reported softer sales growth. 

Arnault is now worth $155.1 billion, just below Bezos’s $156.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

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Arnault became the richest person on the planet in late 2022, surpassing Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk as tech stocks struggled in the face of high inflation. He dropped below Musk again in May but hasn’t been lower than second since October 2022.

The hit to Arnault’s wealth reflects the sluggish sales plaguing luxury goods this year amid cooling demand from inflation-weary US consumers and a rocky economic recovery in China. LVMH shares fell about 10% in Paris in the three days following its earnings report before rebounding on Monday, and are down 1.9% for the year.

By contrast, Bezos and Musk have benefited from a recovery in tech stocks. Musk has added an additional $96.8 billion to his wallet this year as Tesla shares have surged 106%. Bezos’s fortune has grown by $49.3 billion this year alongside a 58% jump in Amazon stock.