The 52-year-old CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has lost his title as the richest person in the world, according to data from the Forbes billionaire index.
With an astounding net worth of $237.3 billion as of the most recent report, his longtime rival and rival on the Forbes Billionaire index, Bernard Arnault, has taken over the top spot.
After Musk’s most recent reign as the world’s richest person, the sudden turn of events occurred less than a month due to a sharp drop in Tesla’s stock price.
Musk lost a staggering $20 billion on Thursday as a result of a sharp decline in market confidence.
The once-rising shares of Tesla, which had propelled Musk to the top of Forbes’ list of billionaires in June, have fallen by more than 7% this week.
Musk’s net worth has significantly decreased as a result of the market instability, dropping by almost $21.2 billion, leaving him with a total net worth of $236.5 billion as of Sunday morning.
Surprisingly, French luxury goods mogul Bernard Arnault has surpassed Musk by $1.6 billion, becoming the new front-runner.
Musk appeared to be on the rise just a few days prior, with Tesla stock reaching its all-time high on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, when the company announced its second-quarter results report after the close of the market on Wednesday, excitement swiftly gave way to gloom.
Tesla attracted criticism from investors who questioned whether the firm may have been overvalued given its astounding $818 billion market capitalization while producing higher-than-expected profitability.
As a result, on Thursday, shares experienced a sudden 10% decrease, and by midday on Friday, they had fallen another 0.5%.
Given that Musk has a sizeable 23% equity ownership in Tesla through shares and options, the market fall reduces his net worth.
Arnault, the CEO of LVMH, had a much smoother week in contrast. The shares of the 74-year-old French tycoon, who owns renowned companies including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany, declined by only 3% over the previous week.
Arnault can now claim the top spot for the first time since Musk passed him in late June amid Tesla’s surging share prices. This is a moment of triumph for Arnault.
