The American magazine Forbes updated its ranking of the biggest billionaires on the planet this week. According to the list, Frenchman Bernard Arnault (featured photo) is the richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$233 billion – the equivalent of around R$1.176 trillion (with the dollar quoted at R$5.05).
Arnault is the owner and executive director of LVMH, considered the largest luxury goods company in the world, which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Christian Dior, in the fashion world; in addition to Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy, among the drinks. And that’s just to name a small sample of LVMH’s portfolio.
Arnault occupies first place on the list for the second year in a row. Between 2023 and 2024, the Frenchman’s fortune increased by US$22 billion (R$111 trillion), thanks to another year of astronomical profits from his luxury conglomerate.
Elon Musk, the owner of Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon, occupies third position in the ranking. He is worth a whopping $194 billion.
Musk and Bezos have been competing for second and third place in the rankings inch by inch – or billion by billion. This occurs as the shares of the two billionaires’ companies fluctuate in the market.
Mark Zuckerberg, from Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, appears in fourth place on the list, with a nest egg that reaches US$177 billion. Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, comes in fifth place, with US$141 billion.
The poorest billionaires
Next on the list, between sixth and tenth place, is mega-investor Warren Buffett, aged 93, with US$133 billion. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, is seventh, with US$128 billion, and Steve Ballmer, who presided over Microsoft for decades, is eighth, with $121 billion. In ninth place is Mukesh Ambani, owner of the Indian industrial conglomerate Reliance, with US$116 billion. Finally, in tenth place, appears Larry Page ($114 billion), who founded Google alongside Sergey Brin.
It should be noted that, among the 10 richest in the world, all are men and seven of them are North Americans – Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, Arnault is French from Roubaix, in the north of the country, and Ambani is a native of Yemen. Again, seven of them made their living working in the technology sector. In this case, Arnault, from the world of luxury, Buffet, from accurate investments, and Ambani, who works in the industrial area, are exceptions.
