How Bernard Arnault, the world’s richest man, lost $11 billion in a day

The world’s richest man is $11 billion poorer.

Bernand Arnault, who owns the conglomerate LVMH, saw a considerable drop in his fortune on Wednesday.

Let’s take a closer look at what happened:

What happened?

According to Bloomberg, shares of LVMH – which includes luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moet & Chandon, and Christian Dior – dropped five per cent in Paris.

Edouard Aubin, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said this came as attendees at a luxury conference in Paris noted a “relatively more subdued” performance in the US.

The performance reflects “weakness in the aspirational consumer in particular.”

Luxury stocks across Europe declined on Wednesday with Bloomberg reporting that $30 billion was wiped out of the segment.

Deutsche Bank AG analysts added that the slowdown in the US is a ‘growing concern’.

Though the rebound in Chinese demand has been among the key drivers of strong sales, investors are likely to be picky from now, they said.

“The luxury sector remains a crowded long for many investors, with the sector’s premium to the market at historically high levels,” Deutsche Bank analyst Matt Garland was quoted as saying.

What about Arnault?

Don’t cry for the French tycoon – the 74-year-old remains the world’s richest man.

His net worth is currently at $192 billion, $29.5 billion of which he’s added this year alone.

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Arnault, the first European to ascend to the top of the world’s richest list, in April saw his net worth cross the $200 billion mark.

Arnault is only the third person in history to do so – after Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

The French businessman was consistently in top 10 of the world’s richest over the past couple of years but remained under Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg.

Meanwhile, the fortune of Musk – whom he overtook in December as the world’s wealthiest man – is estimated at $180 billion.

LMVH’s shares, which began the day at €825, are currently at €819.

According to Barron’s, LMVH last month became the biggest company in Europe when measured by market cap – crossing the $500 billion mark.

LMVH’s share price remains up by 23 per cent for the entire year, while the MSCI Europe Textiles Apparel & Luxury Goods Index this year is up 27 per cent – which shows the strength of the European luxury sector.

Who is Arnault?

Born in Roubaix, France, Arnault graduated from the elite engineering school Polytechnique.

Before moving to the US in 1981, he worked at his family business called Ferret Savinel.

In 1985, Arnault invested $15 million to buy the textile brand Christian Dior. The 73-year-old businessman used his expertise in European craftsmanship to turn LVMH into the world’s biggest luxury styling brand.

Expanding his business to new horizons, Arnault turned LVMH into a luxury behemoth selling champagne, wine, spirits, fashion, leather goods and much more through 5,500 stores worldwide.

Arnault last year removed the age limit for chief executive officers – which allows him to stay at the position until 80.

According to Bloomberg, unlike his fellow billionaires, Arnault likes to stay under the radar and rarely makes public appearances.

He has five children from two marriages – all of whom lend a hand in the family business.

With inputs from agencies

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