(Image source from: The Fashion Law)

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH, Bernard Arnault has been ranked second in the world’s richest person list overtaking Microsoft Corporation’s founder Bill Gates, who had never ranked lower than number two in the list in last seven years, but dropped to the third position this time.

The current world's richest person is Jeff Bezos.

Arnault’s LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton SE, is the world's largest luxury goods company.

Last month, Arnault joined the $100 billion club when LVMH shares climbed to a record 368.80 euros apiece. On Tuesday, his net worth advanced to $107.6 billion, which is $200 million more than Gates. In 2019, he also added $39 billion to his fortune, the biggest individual gain in the elite list, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Now, the collective wealth of Amazon.com INC founder Jeff Bezos, Arnault and Gates have exceeded the market index of every company in the S&P 500 Index, including Walt Disney Co, Exxon Mobil Corp and Walmark Inc, reported Bloomberg.

Interestingly, this year, thus far, has been good for the French Tycoons as L'Oréal owner Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family, and Kering S.A's Francois Pinault made billions of profit.

In April, Bernard Arnault pledged $226 million for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral after a fire ravaged the historic church. On April 15, the cathedral caught fire destroying the lead rood, oak frame and the spire.

By Sowmya Sangam