Bernard Arnault’s fortune increased by more than $23 billion this week, propelled by a jump in LVMH … [+]
The world’s wealth heavyweights had a strong week in the markets, but none are walking out of the ring flusher than France’s Bernard Arnault, whose fortune rocketed up $23 billion to $245.7 billion, per Forbes estimates. The LVMH chief executive and world’s second richest person saw his fortune increase more than any other billionaire this past week, riding the coattails of a stock surge for his luxury goods company, which includes brands like Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, and TAG Heuer. Arnault now trails world’s No. 1 richest Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of Twitter, by a bit less than $5 billion.
Meanwhile, tech rival Mark Zuckerberg saw his fortune increase $6.3 billion over the past week largely thanks to the success of Meta’s Threads app, launched last week as a competitor to Musk’s Twitter. Following a $2.6 billion drop in his fortune the prior week, Zuckerberg rebounded as Meta’s share price achieved a 52 week high of $313.41 on Thursday.
Crypto billionaires had a good week too, though none moreso than Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase Global. The crypto exchange platform closed Friday up 33% for the week. For that, Armstrong has the U.S. court to thank. A U.S. District judge ruled Thursday that blockchain company Ripple did not violate federal securities law by selling its own XRP token. It’s a decision many investors seem to view as a crypto victory over the Securities and Exchange Commission, as it potentially sets a precedent for cryptocurrencies being, at least in some ways, exempt from traditional financial regulations.
Here’s how some of the world’s richest fared in the week from Friday July 7 through Friday July 14, 2023:
Bernard Arnault
Net Worth: $245.7 billion Up: $23 billion, +10.3%
The world’s second richest person got closer to reclaiming the No.1 spot this week, a title he has juggled with Tesla CEO Elon Musk throughout the year. The French fashion tycoon ended Friday just $4.7 billion behind Musk, thanks to a surge in the LVMH share price. The luxury brand closed at $199.54 on Friday, up 10% on the week. Arnault has been nipping at the heels of Musk since June, when the Tesla CEO overthrew his six month reign as the world’s richest person.
Mark Zuckerberg
Net Worth: $109.4 billion Up: $6.3 billion, +6.2%
Zuckerberg is back in the green after losing $2.6 billion the week through July 7. The Meta Platforms CEO is riding the wave of his company’s strong week in the market after launching Threads, an Instagram spinoff app designed to compete with Twitter. Meta’s share price reached a 52 week high on Thursday, 8 days after Threads historic debut when it logged over 30 million downloads in a day. Threads continued to gain new members, crossing the 100 million user mark earlier this week. Meta stock closed Friday up 4.5% on the week. Zuckerberg is now the world’s No. 7 richest person, up from No. 9 richest on July 1, 2023.
Brian Armstrong
Net Worth: $4.4 billion Up: $1.2 billion, +35.3%
Crypto billionaire Brian Armstrong saw his Coinbase Global shares soar 33% this week, jumping nearly 25% on Thursday alone in the wake of a federal court ruling that many analysts view as a landmark victory for the crypto world. A U.S. District judge ruled on Thursday that blockchain company Ripple Labs did not violate federal securities law by listing its XRP token on public exchanges, as the SEC had alleged. The ruling spurred optimism from investors in the crypto market, and Armstrong’s industry leading Coinbase is reaping the benefits.