Elon Musk in danger of losing world’s richest person title to Bernard Arnault

Elon Musk briefly lost the title of world’s richest individual on Wednesday following months of tumult at Twitter and his various other business interests.

Bernard Arnault, CEO of the French luxury goods firm LVMH, temporarily topped Musk on Forbes’ real-time billionaires list. LVMH’s subsidiaries include Louis Vuitton and Moët & Chandon.

But Musk regained his edge by the close of the trading day, finishing with an estimated net worth of $185.4 billion. Arnault, whose wealth had spiked to $185.8 billion, dipped back down to $184.7 billion, according to Forbes.

Indian infrastructure magnate Gautam Adani ranked third on Forbes’ list, followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett.

Musk has held the top spot on Forbes’ list since September of last year. His wealth peaked at an all-time high of $320.3 billion on November 4, 2021.

Musk’s wealth drain occurred on a day in which shares of his electric vehicle firm Tesla slipped nearly 6% to close at $174.04. Tesla’s stock, which comprises the bulk of Musk’s estimated wealth, has fallen roughly 60% since January as recession fears and macroeconomic uncertainty grip investors.

The tech entrepreneur’s fortune has plummeted by more than $100 billion this year as Tesla shares plummet. His net worth has dwindled by about $70 billion since he first placed a bid to buy Twitter in April.

Tesla investors have expressed frustration as Musk became embroiled in a media firestorm over his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, which he completed in October. Musk has sold Tesla shares on multiple occasions to fund the takeover.

Aside from running Tesla and Twitter, Musk also co-founded the brain chip firm Neuralink and heads up the tunnel-drilling Boring Company and Space X.

Musk has faced a mixed public reaction while overhauling Twitter’s operations, with critics questioning his decision to order sweeping layoffs and dial back content moderation practices. This week, the billionaire faced renewed scrutiny over reports that Twitter has installed bedrooms within its offices.