Bernard Arnault Surpasses Bezos To Become World's Wealthiest Man

Bernard Arnault, a French business tycoon overthrows Jeff Bezos on Monday, the 24th, to become the richest person in the world. 

Arnault, who controls luxury group LMVH, saw his net worth go up to $186.3 billion, about $300 million more than the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, who has a net worth of $186 billion

In March 2020, the luxury titan's fortune was at $76 billion, and this quantum jump to $186.3 billion has been due to the stellar performance of his luxury company, LMVH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), which hasn't been fazed by the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdown.

In the first quarter of 2021, LMVH witnessed an increase of 32% in revenue compared to the first quarter of 2020, which amounted to $17 billion.

The company, which owns popular designer brands like Hennessy, Fendi, Givenchy, Christian Dior, and Tiffany, amongst others, went up by 0.4% in the first trading hours of Monday. This rise put the market capitalization of the company at $320 billion and adding some $600 million to Arnault's personal stake in the company.

Bernard Arnault, who's 72 years old, has managed to successfully build an immense fortune, amassing a luxury-goods empire that includes some of the best-known names in fashion, jewelry, and alcohol, including Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, and Dom Perignon. 

Formed through a 1987 merger, LVMH is a French holding company that owns about 79 globally recognized luxury good brands, including Louis Vuitton, Sephora, and champagne brand, Moët et Chandon. The majority of LVMH's brands fall into the categories of wine and spirits, fashion and leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics, and watches and jewelry.

As of last year, the Arnault family held about 47.5% of LVMH’s shares, according to the company’s financial reports. However, Arnault has spent about $538 million buying up more stock in the past months, the price of which keeps growing.

Although the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the world's economies, a lot of wealthy people were exempted. According to Forbes, wealthy people saw about $1.2 trillion in total added to their net-worths in the pandemic. They have seen their wealth soar, like Jeff Bezos, whose wealth skyrocketed by about $75 billion in 2020 alone - as high as $13 billion in a single day.

Bernard Arnault is also one of those whose wealth has moved on steroids. His company, LMVH received huge sales, particularly in the US and China. Its stock price also has gone up to $637.50 on the stock market.

Bernard Arnault is now the world's richest man with a net worth of $186.3 billion, followed by Jeff Bezos with a net worth of $186 billion. Controversial Tesla CEO Elon Musk is in their place with $147 billion.