Bye-bye Bezos: Why is Bernard Arnault currently the richest man in the world?

The recent move on the list is due to a losing streak by Bezos and Amazon. After the company released its quarterly earnings report on July 29, its stock plunged 7.6%, generating losses of more than $ 13 billion. Likewise, the recent appointment of Andy Jassy as the new CEO of Amazon and the prospect of a slowdown in sales for the third quarter have created uncertainty among investors and analysts.

Brian Olsavsky, Amazon's chief financial officer, explained that with reopening and advances in vaccination, people have once again left home to make purchases in person and this has affected e-commerce. On the other hand, the millionaire Bezos divorce for 35 billion dollars has also influenced the changes. His ex-wife, the writer MacKenzie Scott, now holds the 22nd position on the same Forbes list, with a fortune of $ 56.2 billion, making her the third richest woman in the world.

You can also read: Who is Andy Jassy and why is he the “perfect replacement” for Jeff Bezos as CEO of Amazon?

In contrast, Arnault's family company, which groups 75 prestigious brands including Christian Dior, Tiffany & Co, Louis Vuitton and Sephora, recorded revenues of 28.7 billion euros during the first half of 2021, representing 56% more compared to the same period in 2020, according to the company's financial reports.

LVMH continues with the strategy of focusing on companies with strong balance sheets and cash generators that will increase the company's dividends over the next few years, according to information from Bloomberg. Among its most noteworthy acquisitions are the $ 15.8 billion purchase of Tiffany & Co jewelry and the purchase of the Belmond hotel group, which is expected to bring big benefits as travel restrictions ease in the coming months.

For his part, Elon Musk is in third place on the list with a net worth of $ 185.3 billion. Musk is well known to be a cryptocurrency supporter and investor. However, his company Tesla announced in May that it would not accept bitcoin for the purchase of cars, which affected his position as the richest person in the world, since a percentage of his success is related to these digital currencies.

Even so, the world of technology and cryptocurrencies remains on the lookout because in The B World, a bitcoin event in which great personalities participated that was held at the end of July, Musk said that Tesla is likely to accept again the bitcoin. This statement caused the value of bitcoin to rise and it is very likely that in the future it will make Musk rebound.