Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has surpassed French billionaire Bernard Arnault to become the world’s second-richest person, as tech stocks have risen and demand for high-end handbags and other luxury items has dwindled.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Amazon’s Bezos now trails No. 1 billionaire, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, with a total net worth of $156 billion, an amount that has climbed by $49.3 billion since the beginning of 2023.
So far this year, Arnault, the creator and CEO of LVMH Mot Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has seen his net worth plummet $6.95 billion to $155 billion. The decrease in Arnault’s net worth places him third on the list of the world’s richest people, behind Bezos and Musk.
Bezos’ net worth has increased this year, along with that of his fellow tech billionaires, as a result of a 54% increase in Amazon’s stock price since the beginning of 2023, following a string of positive results from the e-commerce giant.This follows a 49% decline in 2022.
More broadly, the NASDAQ-100 Technology industry Index has increased by 43% in 2023, as the industry has benefited from low interest rates and the excitement surrounding artificial intelligence.
Arnault’s fortune has declined as shares in LVMH, which owns prominent luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Mot, and Tiffany & Co, plunged 7% in a single day last week after the Paris-based corporation reported disappointing financial results.So far in 2023, the stock is down more than 4%.
The poor results from LVMH may have heralded the end of the surge in demand for costly Champagne and handbags that has boosted luxury goods retailers since the beginning of COVID-19.
Arnault’s current net worth is a considerable decrease from the more than $200 billion he owned earlier this year at the zenith of his wealth. The Arnault family owns over half of LVMH.
Bezos’ net worth is also lower than it was in July 2021, when the e-commerce titan was benefiting from pandemic-fueled spending. According to FactSet data, the tech billionaire is Amazon’s largest shareholder, with a 10% interest in the Seattle-based company.
Meanwhile, Musk has become the only person in the world with a net worth of more than $200 billion, owing partly to his 13% ownership in Tesla, as well as his holdings in other firms such as The Boring Company and X, which was previously known as Twitter.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 52-year-old Tesla CEO’s net worth is currently assessed at $234 billion, having climbed by $96.8 billion in 2023.