Bloomberg has calculated that Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, has joined Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Bill Games in the $100 billion club.
Mr Arnaut’s wealth was estimated to have exceeded $100,000,000,000 — that is a lot of zeros — in the week LVMH’s shares reached a record 369 euros per share.
The shares are trading at the same level today, up around 50% since the beginning of 2019.
Watch and jewellery brands make up only a fraction of the LVMH empire, which spans high fashion with Louis Vuitton Dior, Fendi and Givenchy, plus global drinks labels including Hennessy, Krug, and Veuve Clicquot.
Seventy year-old Mr Arnault’s reported wealth has risen by over 30% — around $32 billion — this year.