LONDON - Bernard Arnault, the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of the LVMH luxury goods empire, became the richest person in the world in December 2022 – relegating Elon Musk into second place on the global rich list.
According to data from the Forbes real-time billionaires list, Arnault and his family have a net worth of $213.1bn (£172.8bn), while Tesla and Twitter chief Musk is worth $178.3bn (£144.6bn). Jeff Bezos, chairman and founder of Amazon, is third on the list with a fortune of $126.3bn (£102.4bn).
Arnault’s own name “may not be immediately recognisable to many”, said Hanna Ziady on CNN. But the brands that he has been “instrumental in growing” have become “household names”. With a portfolio ranging from Christian Dior to Dom Pérignon, Arnault has turned LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton into a “luxury goods powerhouse” with more than 70 brands selling “wine, spirits, fashion, leather goods, perfumes, cosmetics, watches, jewellery, luxury travel and hotel stays”.
Here we look at the top ten richest people in the world, according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list (as of 1 February 2023).
1- Bernard Arnault and family: $213.1 billion
When it comes to “the world of luxury goods”, perhaps no one is “more successful” than Bernard Arnault, said Business Insider. The Frenchman oversees the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton empire of more than 70 brands, including Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon, TAG Heuer, Christian Dior and Dom Pérignon.
2- Elon Musk: $178.3 billion
Elon Musk is the CEO of electric car giant Tesla and founder and CEO of SpaceX. In October 2022 he completed his takeover of social media company Twitter. Since buying the platform for $44 billion his tenure as Twitter CEO has been “turbulent”, said Sky News.
3- Jeff Bezos: $126.3 billion
Former hedge fund manager Jeff Bezos started Amazon in his garage in 1994. He has invested heavily in space technology too, having founded Blue Origin as a “pet project” back in 2000. After stepping down as Amazon CEO he took on the new role of executive chair. He also owns The Washington Post newspaper.
4- Larry Ellison: $111.9 billion
American business magnate Larry Ellison is co-founder, chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle. He owns around 35% of the software giant.
5- Warren Buffett: $108.5 billion
Warren Buffet was 11 years old when he first bought stock, according to Forbes. Now in his ninth decade, the Berkshire Hathaway chief executive, known as the “Oracle of Omaha”, is one of the most successful investors of all time. Like Bill Gates, Buffett has pledged to give away more than 99% of his fortune to charity.
6- Bill Gates: $104.5 billion
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has been a permanent fixture near the top of the rich list for the past 20 years, despite selling and then giving away much of his stake in the tech company. He now owns just 1% and focuses predominantly on his philanthropic work.
7- Carlos Slim Helú and family: $91.7 billion
Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helú was top of the Forbes world rich list from 2010 to 2013. He and his family control América Móvil, Latin America’s biggest mobile telecom firm.
8- Larry Page: $85.8 billion
Internet entrepreneur Larry Page is one of the co-founders of Google. He stepped down as CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc in December 2019 but remains a board member.
9- Mukesh Ambani: $83.7 billion
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is founder and chairman of Reliance Industries. The company has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom and retail.
10- Sergey Brin: $82.2 billion
Along with Larry Page, Sergey Brin was a co-founder of Google. Until December 2019, he was president of Alphabet Inc.
