Bernard Arnault of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) has surpassed Tesla’s Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person.
According to Forbes magazine’s latest real-time billionaires list, Mr. Arnault’s net worth now stands at a staggering $207.6 billion (191.5 billion euros), surpassing Mr. Musk’s $204.7 billion (1,88.74 billion euros). .
Arnault experienced an extraordinary surge in wealth last week. In just one day on Friday, his net worth increased by $22.7 billion (€20.9 billion), an increase of an astonishing 12.3%. In stark contrast, Elon Musk saw his personal wealth fall by $18 billion (€16.6 billion) the day before, meaning his net worth increased by 8.1%.
This change in fortunes highlights the different paths of their business empires, especially after the release of their latest financial reports.
Arnault’s luxury goods group LVMH reported that 2023 was a record year.
The conglomerate’s performance across its prestigious brand portfolio, which includes well-known brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi and Tiffany & Co. recorded a significant increase in sales, reaching 86.2 billion euros for the full year.
This corresponds to a significant increase of 13% compared to the 2022 figure and is well above the 85.74 billion euros expected by analysts.
Within the LVMH Group, the sector with the highest sales growth was the Selected Retail division, which recorded a significant increase of 25% year-on-year.
This increase was due to his DFS growth due to Sephora’s outstanding performance and the recovery of international travel.
LVMH’s gross profit increased by 9.4% to EUR 59.28 billion, and net profit increased by 8% compared to 2022 to EUR 15.2 billion.
Bernard Arnault maintained a cautiously optimistic outlook, saying: “We remain cautious in the current situation, but supported by a very popular brand, we can enter 2024 with confidence.” said. 2024 will be an exciting and exceptional year, highlighted by his LVMH participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The positive sentiment surrounding LVMH was reflected in the stock market, with the share price increasing by 12.81% to €773.10 following the announcement. The huge increase was the biggest single-day rise since October 2008 and propelled Arnault to the top of the world’s richest rankings.
On the other side of this wealth equation is Elon Musk’s Tesla. The electric vehicle giant expects sales to increase by 3.5% to $25.2 billion (€23.2 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2023, and annual sales to $96.8 billion (€89.3 billion), compared to 2022. reported an increase of %.
However, Tesla’s gross profit decreased significantly by 15.3% to $17.66 billion. Tesla’s net profit increased by a huge 115% to $7.93 billion (€7.3 billion), but this exceptional performance was mainly due to a one-time tax benefit of $5.75 billion.
Looking ahead, Tesla offered a cautious outlook for 2024, predicting a “challenging” year for the global auto industry and predicting a “significant” decline in its profit margins. The outlook led several Wall Street analysts to lower their expectations for Tesla, resulting in a drag on the stock price.
After the results were announced, Tesla stock fell 12%, and Elon Musk fell to second place on the world’s richest list.
The striking contrast between the financial fortunes of Bernard Arnault and Elon Musk highlights the volatile nature of wealth in the modern business environment, where rapid changes in net worth can occur in hours depending on the market performance of their respective empires. It’s highlighted. .