Arnaud Surpasses $200 Billion in Assets... "First Outside the U.S."

The world's richest person, Bernard Arnault, chairman of Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH), has surpassed $200 billion in assets for the first time. This makes him the third person in history, after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, to exceed $200 billion in personal wealth.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on the 4th (local time), Arnault's net worth rose by $2.4 billion during the trading session to reach an all-time high of $201.1 billion (approximately 264 trillion won). This is the third instance of an individual’s net worth surpassing $200 billion, and the first outside the United States.

Arnault, owner of over 70 luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany, overtook Musk in December last year to become the world's richest person. His wealth increased by $39 billion this year as LVMH's stock price surged daily due to expanding demand for luxury goods.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

With the reopening of China, a major luxury consumer market, there is optimism that pent-up demand for luxury goods from Chinese consumers, suppressed by COVID-19 lockdowns, will explode, driving LVMH’s sales sharply higher and supporting the stock price increase.

LVMH’s stock price, riding the upward trend, hit a record high after announcing a €1.5 billion share buyback last month. The company also attracted attention in February by appointing Pharrell Williams as the new creative director of Louis Vuitton’s men's wear, a cash cow brand, with the stock rising over 2% on the day of the announcement.

Louis Vuitton chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari explained the reason for appointing Pharrell Williams as creative director: "Pharrell Williams is a pioneer who has expanded the world of creation in music, fashion, and art, establishing himself as a global cultural icon over the past 20 years. His creative vision will open a new chapter for Louis Vuitton."

Despite the global recession caused by high inflation and high interest rates, Louis Vuitton recorded sales of €79.2 billion last year, a 23% increase compared to the previous year.

On the day, LVMH shares listed on the Paris Stock Exchange closed at €851.00, up 0.82% from the previous session.

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