Earlier this week, Bernard Arnault replaced Elon Musk as the world’s second-richest person. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos remains the richest person in the world with $194.7 billion, and recent numbers show that this is not likely to change any time soon.
Bernard Arnault and his family are not known to the broader public, or at least not as much as Elon Musk—a self-made billionaire, innovator, and visionary. However, Arnault came in second with $182.3 billion, pushing Elon Musk and his $177.6 billion to third place.
French-born Bernard Arnault is the CEO of LVMH, and he controls 47.5% of the company. All of Arnault’s children are active inside the company and act as executives of top brands such as Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, and Tag Heuer.
LVMH, also known as Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy, is an international conglomerate that works inside the luxury industry specializing in luxury brands. They own and run Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Sephora, Dior, Tiffany, and much more. Even Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty is a part of LVMH.
Their most recent acquisition was with Tiffany&Co, and it was estimated to $16 million, causing a market-changing shift inside the jewelry industry. Alexandre Arnault, Bernard’s son, quickly became the company’s Executive VP of product and communications.
Although the pandemic shook the world economy and markets worldwide are struggling, LVMH saw a 32% revenue rise in the first quarter of 2021, compared to last year. This means the company made $19.6 billion.
As global vaccination is helping us return to what we knew as ordinary life, LVMH reports a 22% increase in champagne sales—the world is celebrating. Meanwhile, some future coffee-fueled innovators are working hard to appear on the billionaires list one day.
