Bernard Arnault has once again relinquished the crown of the world’s richest man to Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.
A combination of a slide in the luxury goods sector since April, which has hit Arnault’s main asset LVMH, has coincided with a resurgence in the value of electric vehicle maker Tesla that over the same period is up by more than a third to US$207.
Fears over a US recession slowing down spending on luxury goods has hampered LVMH after a storming run in the first four months, while a whirlwind world tour by Musk including his first visit to China in three years has eased some concerns over deteriorating relations between China and the US.
That visit also reassured investors that Musk might spend more time actually working for Tesla after his Twitter distraction, where Linda Yaccarino has now been appointed as the social media group’s new chief executive.
China accounts for around a third of Tesla sales and is its second-largest market outside of the US.
Arnault is to visit China himself in June, so whether that will see the Frenchman regain the top spot remains to be seen.
According to Bloomberg, which compiles the Billionaire’s index, Musk now has a net worth of US$192bm Arnault stands at US$187bn with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos third at US$144bn.