This French Wine Producer Is Now the World’s Richest Man
The world’s richest man is Bernard Arnault, a French wine producer and CEO of the world’s largest luxury goods company. (Photo: Bernyce Hollingworth/Pexels)
Following the recent drop in Tesla’s share price, business magnate Elon Musk is no longer the world’s richest man. The title now belongs to the 73-year-old French wine producer, Bernard Arnault, according to Financial Review.
Arnault’s net worth has been estimated to be $180 billion, approximately $33 billion more than Musk’s, reported Forbes. His wealth stems from 48% ownership in LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), a French-holding multinational corporation and conglomerate. LVMH is known as the most valuable company in Europe.
LVMH’s oldest brand is Château d’Yquem, a wine producer that originated in 1593. Other notable spirits brands (or “Houses”) the company owns are Moët & Chandon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot, Hennessy and Dom Pérignon. According to Forbes, alcohol only makes up about 10% of LVMH’s revenues, despite its name being half-comprised of wine and spirit brands Moët and Hennessy.
Beyond producing wine and spirits, LVMH also specializes in perfume, jewelry, watches, cosmetics and fashion.
In November, The Shed Distillery’s Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin beat Moët Hennessy in winning the Spirit Brand of the Year award in the 2022 Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Star Awards. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson even congratulated the gin producer on the exciting win.
On the topic of luxury spirits, the world’s most expensive gin (according to Guinness World Records) is Morus LXIV. The spirit sold for £3,800 ($4,635.64) in 2018 and no new record has been officiated. However, a more expensive gin has since gone on the market, priced at $4,888.95. Since gin is usually considered a cheap spirit — when compared to whiskey — these are big numbers for the world of juniper liquor.
Read next:
A Bottle of This 24K Gold-Plated Gin Can be Yours — for $4,888
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