Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has experienced a significant decline in his net worth, causing him to fall from the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Arnault’s fortune, which reached a peak of $231 billion in March, has now dropped to $177 billion as of Wednesday’s market close. This $54 billion decrease in net worth positions Arnault in fifth place, just $1 billion ahead of Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle.
The decline in Arnault’s wealth can be attributed to a 16% drop in LVMH’s stock price, which has reached its lowest level in two years. The luxury goods company has faced challenges, including a modest 2% increase in underlying revenues and an 8% decline in income from recurring operations during the first half of the year.
This significant drop in Arnault’s net worth highlights the volatility of the luxury goods market. Despite this setback, Arnault and LVMH have made strategic moves to navigate market challenges. In August, Arnault’s family office, Aglaé Ventures, invested over $300 million in artificial intelligence startups. Additionally, Arnault’s son launched a new division within LVMH to capture a larger share of the $30 billion luxury watch market earlier this year.
The decline in Arnault’s net worth has been reflected in Forbes’ rankings, where he now sits behind Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg. The innovative approaches and discussions with industry leaders, such as Musk, demonstrate Arnault’s commitment to exploring new opportunities.