Elon Musk wins battle of the multi-billionaires….again: Tesla boss takes top spot with net wealth of $192B toppling French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault’s $187B after shares in firm dropped 2.7%

• The two centibillionaires have been vying for the top spot for months
• This week, Arnault’s wealth decreased after a drop in LVMH’s stock Wednesday

Tesla boss Elon Musk has won the battle of the billionaires again, reclaiming his position as the world’s wealthiest person.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index daily ranking, his net worth is now about $192 billion, compared to LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault’s $187 billion.

The two centibillionaires, a term used to refer to people with fortunes of more than $100 billion, have been vying for the top spot for months.

This week, Arnault’s wealth decreased after a 2.7% drop in LVMH’s stock Wednesday, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Arnault jumped ahead of Musk in December, as his wealth soared due to a boom in luxury goods sales that helped drive up LVMH’s stock price. LVMH, one of the world’s biggest conglomerates, is home to brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton and Celine.

Elon Musk: $192B net worth. Pictured: Musk walks next to Tesla’s Senior Vice President Tom Zhu and Vice President Grace Tao as he leaves a hotel in Beijing, China on May 31, 2023

Bernard Arnault: $187B net worth

Jeff Bezos: $144B net worth

Bill Gates: $125B net worth

Larry Ellison: $118B net worth

Musk has experienced a meteoric ascent through the world’s rich lists in recent years as his fortunes are directly linked to those of electric automaker Tesla. 

Top ten richest people in the world 

1: Elon Musk ($192B)

2: Bernard Arnault ($187B)

3: Jeff Bezos ($144B)

4: Bill Gates ($125B)

5: Larry Ellison ($118B)

6: Steve Ballmer ($114B)

7: Warren Buffet ($112B)

8: Larry Page ($111B)

9: Sergey Brin ($106B)

10: Mark Zuckerberg ($96.5B)

His greatest asset is the company’s stock, of which he owns about 13%, according to Bloomberg.

Musk is also CEO of SpaceX, the space exploration firm, and the owner of social network Twitter. 

LVMH’s shares rose 19.7% this year, while Tesla’s have increased 65.6% in the year to date. 

Musk departed Shanghai on Thursday, wrapping up a two-day trip to China in which he met senior Chinese government officials, including the highest-ranking vice premier.

It was his first trip to the nation in more than three years. 

The billionaire has extensive business interests in the country and told Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Tuesday that his firm was ‘willing to continue to expand its business in China’, according to the foreign ministry. 

China is the automaker’s second-largest market and home to its biggest production hub. 

Photos and a video of Musk’s visit late Wednesday to Tesla’s Shanghai factory – the automaker’s biggest production hub – showed him holding up a ‘Giga Shanghai’ sign, flanked by hundreds of staff including Tom Zhu, head of global manufacturing. 

The video released by Tesla showed Musk praising employees for ‘overcoming so many difficulties and challenges’ and making a heart sign with his hands.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said this week that Beijing welcomed visits by international executives ‘to better understand China and promote mutually beneficial cooperation’. 

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