Twitter owner and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk briefly lost his title as the world’s richest person on Wednesday, to Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury brand Louis Vuitton’s parent company LVMH, according to Forbes.
Bernard Arnault, CEO of the French luxury goods firm LVMH, temporarily topped Musk on Forbes’ real-time billionaires list. LVMH’s subsidiaries include Louis Vuitton and Moët & Chandon.
This follows a steep drop in the value of his stake in the electric-car maker and a $44 billion bet on the social media firm.
Arnault claimed the top spot with a personal wealth of $185.4 billion for some time but got back to the second spot again, according to Forbes.
Musk, who has been the richest man in the world on Forbes list since September 2021, has a net worth of $185.7 billion. Musk took over the title from Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
Indian infrastructure magnate Gautam Adani ranks third on Forbes’ list, followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett.
Musk’s wealth drain occurred on a day in which shares of his electric vehicle firm Tesla slipped nearly 4%.
Tesla’s stock, which comprises the bulk of Musk’s estimated wealth, has fallen nearly 60% since January as recession fears and macroeconomic uncertainty grip investors.
Musk’s net worth dropped below $200 billion earlier on 8 November, as investors dumped Tesla’s shares on worries the top executive and largest shareholder of the world’s most valuable electric-vehicle maker is more preoccupied with Twitter.
Musk has faced a mixed public reaction while overhauling Twitter’s operations, with critics questioning his decision to order sweeping layoffs and dial back content moderation practices.
This week, the billionaire faced renewed scrutiny over reports that Twitter has installed bedrooms within its offices.
Musk’s wealth peaked at an all-time high of $320.3 billion on 4 November, 2021.
However, the tech entrepreneur’s fortune has plummeted by more than $100 billion this year as Tesla shares plummeted.
His net worth has dwindled by about $70 billion since he first placed a bid to buy Twitter in April.
Aside from his roles at Tesla and Twitter, Musk also co-founded the brain chip firm Neuralink and heads up the tunnel-drilling Boring Company.
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