LVMH’s Bernard Arnault Wears the Crown Again: Elon Musk Is No Longer the World’s Richest Man as Tesla Hits a Rough Patch

It’s been a turbulent year for Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk, who once stood as the world’s wealthiest individual. The car manufacturer has endured a shaky performance ever since it was revealed that the automotive giant was shaving $2,000 off its flagship US car prices, in what was seen as an effort to boost demand.

As a result of this aberrant market behaviour, valuation experts predicted that Musk’s wealth was about to take a nosedive and slip to second place with French billionaire Bernard Arnault – the man behind the luxury giant Louis Vuitton and the world’s second-richest man – set to take the crown.

The latest figures from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index confirm that Arnault has now taken the lead as the world’s wealthiest man, nudging Musk down to second place with an estimated fortune of $151.8 billion.

Arnault’s wealth has increased by $19.2 billion over the last 12 months, which is largely attributed to the ongoing success of his flagship brand Louis Vuitton. The company put a lot of focus on tailoring the overall customer experience, which resulted in a surge in spending this year despite the ongoing pandemic.

Musk has been in the headlines throughout 2020, thanks to Tesla’s run of successes. The company’s stock surged from $210 to an all-time high of $750 in the past 12 months and helped make Musk the world’s richest man earlier this year. But the latest share price dip has stripped Musk of his former title for now – although only time will tell whether he can reclaim it in 2021.

Whether or not Musk can make a comeback at the top of the chart will undoubtedly depend on Tesla’s stock performance in the coming year. However, few can deny that Bernard Arnault has well and truly earned his spot at the top of the heap and is likely to remain there in the short term.