Elon Musk is no longer the world’s richest person after $39 billion was knocked off his net worth over the past year, according to Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires List.
The Tesla and Twitter chief executive is second behind Bernard Arnault, the French luxury goods tycoon who runs LVMH.
Musk, 51, is now worth an estimated $180 billion. In October last year he bought Twitter for $44 billion, largely funded by selling shares in Tesla, the electric car maker.
Forbes said that Musk’s Twitter takeover prompted a drop in the value of Tesla shares by almost 50 per cent.
Arnault, 74, and his family, whose company owns luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co, moved into top spot for the first time with a net worth of $211 billion. Last year $53 billion was added to his fortune — the biggest increase of any billionaire. Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, is ranked third with a net worth of $114 billion after losing $57 billion as his company’s share price fell.
The number of billionaires on the list was down by 28 to 2,640, the second successive fall.
“It’s been another rare down year for the planet’s richest people,” said Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes’ senior editor of wealth. “Nearly half the list is poorer than they were 12 months ago.”
Top ten billionaires
1. Bernard Arnault and family ($211bn)
2. Elon Musk ($180bn)
3. Jeff Bezos ($114bn)
4. Larry Ellison ($107bn)
5. Warren Buffett ($106bn)
6. Bill Gates ($104bn)
7. Michael Bloomberg ($94.5bn)
8. Carlos Slim Helu and family ($93bn)
9. Mukesh Ambani ($83.4bn)
10. Steve Ballmer ($80.7bn)
Source: The Times
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