Bernard Arnault Surpasses Jeff Bezos as World’s Richest Person, Fortune Eclipses Morocco’s GDP

According to the latest Forbes ranking, the French businessman has snatched this first place following a drop in Jeff Bezos’ fortune, who lost nearly $14 billion in a single day on Friday.

With this fortune, Bernard Arnault is richer than Morocco, whose GDP does not exceed $120 billion.

The Frenchman’s empire consists of the LVMH, Moët & Chandon, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy groups. It continues to grow with a strong increase in revenue in the first half of the current year: $33.9 billion, up 56% compared to the first half of 2020.

His LVMH group, the most powerful of French multinationals and the world’s largest luxury group, has experienced strong growth since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, a success explained by its resilience to the economic consequences of the crisis, the recovery of the luxury market in China, and a boom in emerging countries.