Sorry Elon – Arnault is the richest person in the world now

It’s official – Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world.  French billionaire, Bernard Arnault is.

At least for the month of April, he is.

This week, the money-magnet took the top spot on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. It is said that he is worth $201 billion (around approximately 2.88 trillion South African rands).

The title has been passed back and forth between Musk and Arnault, with Musk gaining it in March only to lose it to Arnault in April again.

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Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault, born on 5 March 1949, is a prominent French business tycoon, investor, and art enthusiast. He serves as the founder, chairman, and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which stands as the largest luxury goods corporation globally.

With an estimated net worth of $21 billion as of March 2023, he also currently holds the top spot on Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest individuals. His family is also recognised as one of the richest families worldwide.

Arnault has five children – all of whom now work for him.

Arnault, ‘the terminator’

He has often been referred to as ‘the terminator’ after a business decision he made in 1984 to lay off close to 9 000 workers a luxury goods company shortly after he acquired it to save it from closing.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk dropped down to second place, while Jeff Bezos was in third. Bill Gates was in fifth.

Musk is close on Arnault’s heels though and might soon regain his title, should things go his way over the next month or so.

ALSO READ: Bernard Arnault: The man who replaced Elon Musk as world’s richest person

Musk cofounded six companies including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and tunneling startup Boring Company.

The billionaire recently acquired social media platform, Twitter, inheriting with it its massive debt. But Musk has been working to save Twitter from its financial woes and make it profitable again.

He has since revamped the company’s subscription revenue strategy as a way to make ends meet. He also recently started selling verified blue check marks to users.