Elon Musk has regained his title as the richest person in the world. The chief executive of Tesla Inc. outperformed luxury mogul Bernard Arnault on Wednesday after LVMH shares fell 2.6% in Paris trading.
Musk and the 74-year-old Frenchman have been neck-and-neck in the fight for the top spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a list of the world’s 500 richest people.
Arnault first outperformed Musk in December, when the technology industry was struggling and the luxury sector was resilient to inflation. LVMH, which was founded by Arnault, owns brands like Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Hennessy.
Faith in the dynamism of the luxury sector is beginning to fade amid increasing signs of slowing economic growth, particularly in China, a crucial market. LVMH shares have fallen 10% since April and at one point erased $11 billion of Arnault’s net worth in a single day.
Musk, for his part, has earned more than $55.3 billion this year, thanks in large part to Tesla. The Austin-based automaker, which comprises 71% of his fortune, is up 66% so far this year. Musk’s fortune is now valued at about $192.3 billion, according to the index, while Arnault’s is around $186.6 billion.
