Mumbai: For the first time in the recent history of the rich, Bill Gates stands as the world's third richest man.
Gates, who hasn't been ranked lower than No 2 lately in Bloomberg Billionaires Index has been replaced by France’s Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of the luxury goods maker, LVMH Moët Hennessy.
That run that lasted 7 years ended on Tuesday when the Microsoft co-founder dropped to No 3 behind the new Arnault. Arnault’s net worth has risen to $107.6 billion – ahead of Bill Gates by more than $200 million
LVMH enjoyed record profits in 2018 with revenue of €46.8 billion ($52.5 billion) – an increase of 10% over the previous year.
Arnault, 70, has added US$39 billion to his fortune in 2019 alone, the biggest individual gain by far among the 500 people in Bloomberg’s ranking.
He joined Gates and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, in the most exclusive wealth club last month, when his fortune surpassed $100 billion for the first time.
Jeff Bezos’ net worth is up slightly this year to $125 billion, even after reaching a divorce settlement with MacKenzie Bezos, which saw her keep a 4% stake in his company, Amazon, worth $38 billion.
The trio’s collective wealth exceeds the individual market values of almost every company in the S&P 500 Index, including Walmart ExxonMobil and Walt Disney.
