Amazon’s Bezos Isn’t the World’s Richest Person Anymore. Here’s Who Beat Him.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and its largest shareholder, is no longer the richest person in the world. He wasn’t topped by Facebook ‘s Mark Zuckerberg, or Microsoft ‘s Bill Gates, or even Berkshire Hathaway ‘s Warren Buffett, but by a man you might not have heard of: Bernard Arnault. The 72-year old Frenchman is the founder, chair, and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton (LVMH), a luxury-goods conglomerate covering fashion, jewelry, cosmetics, and wines and spirits. Its brands include Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior , Bulgari, Tag Heuer, Sephora, Hennessy, and most recently Tiffany—and it’s had a fantastic year. Between his control of LVMH owner Christian Dior and a family holding company, Arnault owns around 47% of LVMH, which has a market capitalization of €339.5 billion ($402.9 billion). LVMH stock has climbed more than 35% so far in 2021, and has surged 1...