Luxury magnate Arnault knocks off Elon Musk on world billionaire ranking

NEW YORK: Elon Musk appears to have been unseated as the world's second-richest person, foreign media has reported.

According to Forbes' real-time billionaires list, Musk has been eclipsed by Bernard Arnault, the CEO of French luxury conglomerate LVMH Mot Hennessy - Louis Vuitton. As of Tuesday morning, Arnault's fortune was pegged at $176.3 billion while Musk's clocked in at $174.6 billion.

Another real-time wealth tracker, Bloomberg's billionaires list, still has Arnault in fourth position with a net worth of $146 billion and Musk in the No. 2 slot with $183 billion. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos remains the richest person in the world with a net worth of $197 billion.

Arnault and his family control 47.5% of LVMH, and his surge in wealth appears to be the result of an impressive first quarter for the company. The luxury house, which owns over 70 brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Mot & Chandon, Hennessy, and Veuve Clicquot, recorded 14 billion euros in revenue - about $16.9 billion - in the first quarter, up 32% from the same quarter in 2020.