LVMH’s Bernard Arnault drops down the rich list after shedding $54 billion in wealth

The fashion mogul’s fortune has since shrunk by $54 billion to $177 billion at Wednesday’s close. That puts him in fourth place and just $1 billion ahead of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison in fifth place.

Arnault’s net worth has fallen by $30 billion this year, making him the biggest wealth loser among the 500 people on the Bloomberg list. He is also the only person among the 18 richest people who is in the red for 2024; the others all earned at least $14 billion and as much as $63 billion.

The Forbes rankings tell a similar story: Arnault moved from first place, with a net worth of $233 billion on March 8, to fifth, with a net worth of $175 billion, behind Musk, Bezos, Ellison and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The stroke of riches for “The Wolf in Cashmere” reflects a 16% drop in LVMH’s share price to its lowest level in two years. Arnault owns about 48 percent of the luxury conglomerate, which is home to about 75 brands, including Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon and Sephora.

LVMH shares have been hit by the company’s woes. It struggled in the first half of this year, with underlying revenue growing just 2% and revenue from recurring operations falling 8%. Underlying profits fell 26% in the Wines & Spirits business, 19% in Watches & Jewelery and 6% in the key fashion and leather goods segment.

Arnault also warned of a “climate of economic and geopolitical uncertainty” in the earnings release. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported last month that Sephora is cutting its 4,000-person workforce in China by 10% to cope with the challenging local market.

The luxury industry boomed after the pandemic as travel resumed and pent-up shopping demand was released. But it has struggled more recently as historic inflation, higher interest rates and recession fears have tempered demand even among wealthy consumers.