The world’s elite luxury moguls felt the pinch on Tuesday as their fortunes took a significant hit. The decline in high-end brand shares led to a substantial decrease in the net worth of prominent billionaires, including Bernard Arnault and François Pinault. The luxury sector experienced a downturn after China’s economic policymakers failed to provide concrete details on their stimulus measures.
Bernard Arnault, the mastermind behind LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, holds a nearly 49% stake in the parent company of Dior and Sephora. As LVMH shares plummeted by as much as 7% in Paris, the value of his stake decreased by approximately $13 billion. Although the shares later recovered slightly, Arnault’s net worth still took a significant hit. With a net worth of $197 billion, he ranked as the world’s fourth-richest person on Monday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Arnault’s closest rival, François Pinault, the founder of Kering, which owns Gucci and Balenciaga, also felt the impact. Kering shares dropped by as much as 8%, reducing the value of Pinault’s 41% stake by over $1 billion. Pinault’s net worth, which stood at $24 billion on Monday, has decreased by more than $11 billion this year.
Other prominent luxury brands also experienced declines, resulting in a decrease in the net worth of their largest shareholders. For instance, the Dumas family, whose fortune is largely tied to Hermès stock, saw their estimated $150 billion fortune shrink as the stock slid 3%. Similarly, the family of former Richemont CEO Johann Rupert, which derives most of its $14 billion fortune from the company behind Cartier and Piaget, felt the pinch as the stock dropped 3%. Moncler CEO Remo Ruffini, whose net worth is estimated at $3.4 billion, also saw his company’s stock fall 3%.
Although Chanel is not publicly traded, the co-owners Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, who were worth approximately $46.6 billion each on Monday, likely saw their net worth decrease due to the widespread decline in luxury brand valuations. The selloff was triggered by China’s economic policymakers failing to provide clarity on their stimulus plans, which had previously boosted markets worldwide.
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