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Forbes and Bloomberg have both announced that Bernard Arnault, Chairman of LVMH, has overtaken Elon Musk as the the world’s richest person, according to the Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. With a net worth of roughly $172 billion, Arnault is the only Frenchman on the top 10 list, as well as the only person in the consumer industry.

Whilst Tesla’s share price has witnessed a drastic 54% decline this year, LVMH’s share prices remained steady in comparison, with a market value of $386 billion. Musk’s majority purchase of Twitter also hasn’t seemed to help, as the billionaire had to sell roughly $40 billion worth of Tesla shares to compensate for his hefty $44 billion deal with Twitter. As for Bernard Arnault, luckily for him demand for luxury goods remained steadfast, despite an increase in inflation and a pandemic.

Unlike the second richest man in the world, Bernard Arnault isn’t one for social media or public appearance in general. The luxury magnate is known for being instrumental to the growth of several luxury brands and consumer companies alike, from Christian Dior to Louis Vuitton, Dom Pérignon, Moët & Chandon and several more high-end consumer brand. Bernard Arnault is not the first person in the fashion industry to reach Forbes’ richest list. Amancio Ortega, CEO of fast fashion brand Zara currently holds the title of 16th richest person in the world according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List, however he had held the number one spot a few times in the past.

Whilst in opposite ends of the fashion spectrum, with one billionaire making his fortune from luxury goods and the other from fast fashion, Arnault and Ortega are two of the very few who have earned their names on the world’s richest lists through the fashion and retail industries.