French tycoons are set to lose £55 billion as global demand for luxury goods collapses
Three of France’s richest people have lost more than £55 billion this year due to weak global demand for luxury goods and political unrest at home.
LVMH chief Bernard Arnault (pictured with his wife Helene) has seen £25 billion of his wealth disappear by 2024, but is still the fifth richest man in the world with £140 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, once the richest woman in the world, has lost £20 billion and Kering tycoon François Pinault is £11 billion worse off. They are now worth £60 billion and £17 billion respectively.
The losses came as shares in LVMH, L’Oréal and Kering – the company behind Gucci – plunged after years of gains on the Paris stock market.
LVMH chief Bernard Arnault (pictured with his wife Helene) has seen £25 billion of his wealth disappear by 2024.
Sales of luxury goods and cosmetics soared after the pandemic as the rich splashed out.
But a slowdown in demand, especially in China, has sent stocks tumbling, while the collapse of the French government has also hit investment in the country.
Arnault, 75, has built LVMH into one of Europe’s largest companies with brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Moet & Chandon.
Bettencourt Meyers, 71, whose grandfather founded L’Oréal, last year became the first woman to amass a $100 billion fortune. Pinault, 88, founded the company now called Kering in 1962.
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