CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company, Bernard Arnault, has continued his impressive streak at cementing his position as the world’s richest person as of May 1, 2024.
According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires list, the luxury goods tycoon has held the top spot since February 2024, followed by Tesla owner and founder, Elon Musk.
In April 2024, Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos, took Musk’s position (2nd place), but the Tesla founder has since regained the spot after his stock rose by 15 percent on April 29, 2024, increasing his net worth by $14.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Elon Musk, who recently visited China to learn about the electric vehicle evolution in Asia, has now narrowed the gap between himself and Bernard Arnault, who is now worth $209.4 billion, about $10 billion more than Elon Musk’s fortune.
Arnault’s LVMH company, however, saw a decline in its stock in the past month, pushing its fortune down by $17 billion.
In addition, Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos, fell to the third place with a net worth of $193.3 billion, while Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta recorded a net worth of $151.2 billion for the period.
Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, who reigned as the world’s richest person for about three decades, saw his worth at $128 billion, making him the ninth richest person in the world, down from the seventh spot a month ago.
As of May 1, 2024, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of France was the richest woman in the world. She is estimated to be worth $95.4 billion and is the world’s 15th richest person.
According to Forbes, Francoise’s fortune lies in her ownership stake in cosmetics giant L’Oreal, which she inherited from her late mother. Her grandfather was the founder of L’Oreal, Eugène Schueller.
See the full list below as compiled by Forbes
1. Bernard Arnault
Net worth: $209.4 billion
Source: LVMH/ luxury goods Age: 75
Residence: Paris
Citizenship: France
2. Elon Musk
Net worth: $199.6 billion
Source: Tesla, SpaceX, X (Twitter) Age: 52
Residence: Austin, Texas
Citizenship: U.S.
3. Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $193.3 billion
Source: Amazon Age: 60
Residence: Miami, Florida
Citizenship: U.S.
4. Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $151.2 billion
Source: Meta (Facebook)
Age: 39 Residence: Palo Alto, California
Citizenship: U.S.
5. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $142.8 billion
Source: Oracle
Age: 79 Residence: Woodside, California
Citizenship: U.S.
6. Larry Page
Net worth: $135.4 billion
Source: Google Age: 51
Residence: Palo Alto, California
Citizenship: U.S.
7. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $131 billion
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 93 Residence: Omaha, Nebraska
Citizenship: U.S.
8. Sergey Brin
Net worth: $129.9 billion
Source: Google
Age: 50
Residence: Los Altos, California
Citizenship: U.S.
9. Bill Gates
Net worth: $127 billion
Source: Microsoft, investments
Age: 68 Residence: Medina, Washington
Citizenship: U.S.
10. Steve Ballmer
Net worth: $117.1 billion
Source: Microsoft, Clippers, investments
Age: 68
Residence: Hunts Point, Washington
Citizenship: U.S.
With additional files from Forbes
