A Frenchman Topped Bill Gates To Become The World's Second-Richest Person

Bill Gates is no longer the second-richest person in the world. According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index released on Wednesday, July 17, the co-founder of Microsoft, who was the richest man in the world for years, has been topped by a Frenchman: Bernard Arnault, CEO of the LVMH group.

The French business magnate, who's now 70 years old, has a net worth estimated at just over 107 billion dollars. His fortune has significantly increased since the beginning of 2019 - by $ 39 billion, to be exact -, mainly due to this year's increase in the price of LVMH stocks (+ 52%). As a reminder, Bernard Arnault holds 47% of the group's capital.

Bill Gates drops down to third place, a first

Behind Bernard Arnault, Bill Gates is forced to settle for third place, with a net worth of about 200 million dollars less than the Frenchman's. For the first time since this index was created (7 years ago), the co-founder of Microsoft holds neither first nor second place.

If you're wondering who's at the top of the list, - surprise! - it's none other than Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, whose net worth is estimated at $125 billion, despite a particularly expensive divorce. Together, the three billionaires have a net worth estimated at $ 340 billion. That's more or less the GDP of a country like South Africa, according to 20 minutes.

The French are doing well

Other French billionaires' net worth aren't far behind: in total, François Pinault, Bernard Arnault, and the Bettencourt family have made more than 63 billion dollars since the beginning of 2019.