In mid-December, the hushed and codified world of billionaires experienced an earthquake that's still reverberating.
For the first time in a long time, a "tech bro" wasn't the richest person in the world. This title went to the French executive Bernard Arnault.
Arnault, 73, is chief executive of the French luxury-goods giant LVMH (LVMUY) , owner of prestigious brands like Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
The French tycoon stole first place from Elon Musk on Dec. 13. That day his net wealth was estimated at $171 billion, compared with $164 billion for Elon Musk, 51, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The fortunes of the two men are based on their stakes in their respective companies. Arnault owns 48% of fashion and luxury giant LVMH. Musk currently owns 14.11% of Tesla's shares outstanding, according to FactSet. The tech billionaire also has a more than 40% stake in SpaceX.
Musk's Fortune Has Grown by Nearly $50 Billion
The changes among the elite of the wealthy stemmed mainly from Tesla having a bad year on the stock market.
Last year, the maker of the Model S luxury electric sedan saw its stock fall nearly two-thirds (65%). In the other direction LVMH share prices benefited from the reopening of economies around the world after two years of covid lockdown.
Now Tesla is bouncing back and so is Musk. Arnault hasn't slowed down, but Musk's comeback is supersonic. Over the first 40 days of the year, Tesla stock is up 68.3%, which translates to $266 billion more market capitalization.
This revival in turn reflects the sparkling fourth-quarter results the Austin EV producer reported. In addition, Tesla's horizon seems clear: Demand for the group's cars is at record highs, Musk told analysts on Jan. 25. The automaker also plans to produce up to 2 million vehicles this year after 1.37 million in 2022.
In a few months, Tesla will also start production of the highly anticipated Cybertruck, its first pickup/truck. This vehicle, whose order book is full, to the point where Tesla no longer takes orders in many parts of the world, is seen as the firm's new cash cow.
All this news has therefore benefited Tesla but also Musk. His personal fortune is now estimated at $186 billion as of Feb. 9, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It is up $48.6 billion this year. The tech mogul now finds himself only $3 billion away from Arnault, whose net worth is estimated at $189 billion, up by $27.2 billion this year.
If Tesla continues its stock market rally, as many financial analysts expect, Musk in the next few days should regain his crown as the richest person in the world.
A Top 10 Dominated by Tech; Adani Drops
At the beginning of the year the rankings of the biggest fortunes had been shaken by the tumble of the Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, whose net wealth has decreased by $62.4 billion in 40 days. He is currently worth $58.2 billion.
Adani was hit with charges of fraud, money laundering and stock price manipulation issued by the New York short-seller Hindenburg Research. These allegations have caused sharp selling of the shares of the entities making up the Adani Group conglomerate. Adani, who started the year as the fourth richest person, is 21st now.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of social-media giant Meta Platforms (META), is in the process of returning to the top of the rankings thanks to a stock market rally at his empire. His net wealth is up $20.5 billion this year, at $66.1 billion. He is ranked 16th.
The top 10 include six other tech tycoons: Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of Amazon (AMZN), with a net wealth of $122 billion, up $15.2 billion this year, and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft (MSFT), is worth $116 billion, up by $6.52 billion. Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle (ORCL), has a fortune of $102 billion, up by $9.7 billion. He's ranked sixth.
Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, is seventh with a fortune of $93.9 billion, up by $8.07 billion. Larry Page, co-founder of Alphabet (GOOGL), is eighth with $89.3 billion, up by $6.36 billion, while Sergey Brin, the other co-founder of Alphabet, is 9th, with a net wealth valued at $85.5 billion, up $6.08 billion.
The legendary investor Warren Buffett is the fifth richest person in the world. He is worth $107 billion, down by $254 million.
And the Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim is 10th. His fortune is estimated at $81.6 billion, up $7.32 billion this year.
