Bernard Arnault is the world's richest man

Bernard Arnault, the founder, chairman, and CEO of the LVMH group, has been voted the richest person in the world by Forbes. According to estimates, Arnault has a $211 billion fortune, an achievement obtained thanks to more than lucrative earnings over the past 12 months that have reported an 18% growth in LVMH shares, or a total gain of $53 billion. This year marks the 37th edition of the ranking compiled by the American business magazine, and the first time a Frenchman has been at the helm.

In 2022, the list was headed by Elon Musk - to date his wealth amounts to $180 billion, having lost $39 billion following the acquisition of Twitter - and even earlier, with a hold of several years in both cases, by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Together with Arnault, the top 30 places on the list include other fashion industry tycoons: Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the world's richest woman and granddaughter of the founder of L'Oréal; Amancio Ortega, the Spanish entrepreneur behind the Zara empire; Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike; and François Pinault, Bernault's rival at the helm of the Kering group, who with a fortune of $40.1 billion is in 28th place.