Bernard Arnault, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (EPA:MC), has lost his place as the second richest man in the world after his luxury goods company experienced a slowdown in demand in the most recent quarter.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, and chairman, is currently worth US$156 billion, having experienced almost a US$50 billion rise in 2023, whereas Arnault, who has lost almost US$7 billion of his fortune this year, has a net worth of US$155 billion, Bloomberg revealed.
At one point earlier this year, the LVMH boss overtook the world’s richest man and boss of Tesla Elon Musk for the top spot during a point at which the reopening in China saw a boom in luxury markets, while supply chain issues were plaguing the electric vehicle producer.
Missing revenue estimates by around 4% during its fourth quarter, LVMH, which owns brands like TAG Heuer, Dior and Givenchy, has seen its shares slide by as much as 10% in the last month.
Analysts at Bank of America have noted that while Chinese demand remains robust the country continues to seek out luxury goods because of an extended lockdown, which only saw the Asian nation lift regulations at the start of the year.
While sales in Europe are edging closer to pre-pandemic levels, the US bank’s analysts believe the tailwinds being felt from tourism have subsided.
LVMH shares are down close to 1% on Tuesday, having opened at 669p, while shares in Amazon dropped over 1% at around US$131.