Elon Musk is once again world’s richest person

Tesla billionaire topples luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault by getting a wealth gain of about $5bn

Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s richest person after dethroning French multi-billionaire Bernard Arnault from the top spot.

The Twitter chief surpassed the French luxury brand tycoon on Wednesday after shares of Mr Arnault’s LVMH fell 2.6 per cent in Paris trading.

Mr Arnault runs the world’s largest luxury brands conglomerate that includes companies such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Celine and Tag Heuer.

The Tesla and SpaceX chief’s total wealth now stands at about $192bn, compared to the French luxury tycoon’s $187bn, according to a Bloomberg Billionaires tally.

The two multibillionaires have been in close competition for the top spot in recent times.

The Tesla chief briefly retook the number-one spot in early March but lost his position after shares of Tesla fell by about 5 per cent, dropping his wealth by $2bn and allowing the French businessman to reclaim the top spot.

But shares of LVMH dropped by a tenth since April, wiping nearly $11bn from Mr Arnault’s net worth in a single day at one point.

Mr Musk had previously held the top position since September 2021, taking over the top spot from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

But weeks after reluctantly closing his $44bn deal to buy Twitter and becoming the social media giant’s new boss, he lost his position at the top of the list.

Mr Musk, whose wealth is largely tied to his Tesla stock, initially reached the top spot in 2021 thanks to shares of the electric carmaker increasing over 1,000 per cent within two years.

The Tesla titan’s wealth once again surged by over $55bn this year due to the EV company’s stock, of which he owns about 13 per cent.

While LVMH shares have grown by nearly a fifth this year, Tesla’s have surged by over 65 per cent during this time.