Musk Finally Loses Title of 'World's Richest Person'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Twitter, has finally lost his position as the 'world's richest person.' The impact of owner risk following the Twitter acquisition and signs of sluggish demand in China have led to a plunge in Tesla's stock price, damaging Musk CEO's assets.

The person who surpassed Musk CEO to become the world's richest is Bernard Arnault, chairman of Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH), which owns over 70 luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to the real-time billionaire list compiled by the US economic media Forbes on the 12th (local time), Arnault's net worth reached $186.2 billion (approximately 242.7 trillion KRW), surpassing Musk CEO's net worth of $181.3 billion. Unlike on the 7th when Arnault's assets briefly exceeded Musk CEO's, this time it was based on the closing price.

Musk CEO's assets decreased by 3.9% in just one day. This is largely due to Tesla's stock price falling 6.3% that day. Since the Twitter acquisition, Tesla's stock price has dropped nearly 27%. Considering Tesla's stock price was close to $400 earlier this year, it plummeted by more than half to $167.82 on that day.

The reason Tesla's stock price is falling so sharply is due to signs of reduced demand for Tesla vehicles amid a global economic recession, as well as the risks highlighted during Musk CEO's acquisition of Twitter. Reports indicate that demand is decreasing in Tesla's largest market, China, leading to a reduction in production at the Shanghai factory.

However, Musk CEO is focusing more on managing Twitter than Tesla. To raise the $44 billion acquisition cost, Musk CEO sold Tesla shares or used them as collateral to secure loans. Additionally, after acquiring Twitter, he reportedly placed a bed at the California headquarters and stayed overnight there to concentrate on Twitter management. As a result, the market is analyzing that this has caused disruptions in making key decisions for Tesla.

Bernard Arnault, Chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH)
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the other hand, LVMH's stock price, led by Arnault, fell only 1.5% this year. Trading between $500 and $700 throughout the year, LVMH's stock closed at $716.20, down 0.57% from the previous day. Despite concerns about an economic recession and a global stock market plunge, the stock price did not fall significantly, suggesting that Arnault's assets were not greatly affected.

Following Musk CEO, the third richest was Gautam Adani, chairman of India's Adani Group ($134.1 billion), followed by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon ($113.8 billion), and Warren Buffett, founder of Berkshire Hathaway ($108.1 billion).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.