Bernard Arnault is the second richest person in the world in a market rally

Luxury king Bernard Arnault has recaptured the title of the world’s second richest person, with a net worth of over $ 137 billion, after a recent surge in the LVMH share price.

Arnault added $ 7 billion to his wealth on Monday, as European stocks and luxury companies soared on the back of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine news.

The richest man in Europe, who is chairman and CEO of LVMH, has added an estimated $ 16 billion to his wealth over the past two weeks – more than the total purchase price of jewelry giant Tiffany .

LVMH, which owns luxury brands such as Louis Vitton, Christian Dior and Moet & Chandon, agreed to buy Tiffany last year for $ 16 billion, but the two companies fought a bitter legal battle this fall over the price. purchase, ultimately accepting a price cut of $ 400 million. .

Forbes now ranks Arnault as the second richest person in the world, behind Jeff Bezos, who is worth around $ 184 billion. Arnault clinched second place in 2019, but fell in the rankings as LVMH’s stock plunged during the coronavirus pandemic. Former number two Bill Gates is now third at $ 119 billion, according to Forbes real-time tracking.

The Bloomberg Billionaire Index, which uses a different methodology, ranked Arnault behind Gates at $ 103 billion – even less than Arnault’s previous high of $ 109 billion, according to Bloomberg. The rankings also place Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk’s value at $ 103 billion.

Both rankings, however, show that the stock market boom of the past two weeks has created immense wealth for the world’s billionaires. There are now five billionaires in the world with more than $ 100 billion in wealth – a first, according to Bloomberg. The richest 500 people in the world added $ 1.2 trillion to their wealth this year, even as the world plunged into economic crisis and pandemic.

The fall in tech stocks, however, has also shaved the fortunes of the big tech titans. Bezos saw his net worth drop by $ 9 billion on Monday, while Zuckerberg saw his fortune drop by $ 5.5 billion. As the vaccine rally entered its third day on Wednesday, shares of Facebook and Amazon were trading higher.