Elon Musk is no longer the richest man in the world after the value of his shares in electric car maker Tesla dropped significantly this year.
According to JEE News, the head of luxury goods company LVMH, Bernard Arnault, has overtaken Elon Musk.
Arnault’s substantial investment in Christian Dior SE, a holding company that owns 41.2% of LVMH, is where most of his wealth comes from. He owns shares in Christian Dior SE and 6.2% of LVMH through his family’s holding firm Groupe Familial Arnault.
Musk is Tesla’s CEO and the company’s largest shareholder, with an estimated 14 percent stake. In October, it ended its $44 billion takeover of the social media site Twitter after reports of upset Tesla board members. Musk reportedly hired engineers from Tesla to work on Twitter, further upsetting shareholders.
JEE News estimates that Musk is currently worth around $178 billion (£152 billion). Bernard Arnault, on the other hand, is worth $188 billion.
After months of legal battles, Musk’s purchase of Twitter was finalized. Some have attributed Tesla’s share price decline to distractions brought on by the microblogging platform.
After investing in Twitter earlier in the year, Musk made his $44 billion offer in April, which many believed was too expensive.
It pulled out of the deal in July, citing concerns about the volume of fake and bot accounts on the network. Finally, Twitter officials filed a lawsuit to enforce the billionaire’s offer.
According to Wedbush Securities investor Dan Ives, the “circus” surrounding the Twitter transaction has devalued Tesla’s stock.
“Musk has gone from a superhero in Tesla stock, to a villain in the eyes of the street, as the overhang grows with every tweet,” he told JEE News.
“The Twitter circus show has damaged Musk’s reputation and is a significant threat to Tesla’s shares. Tesla and Musk are one and the same.”
To finance his purchase, the Twitter boss sold billions of Tesla shares, helping the share price plummet.
If the economy weakens, rising financing costs discourage consumers, and other companies increase their electric vehicle offerings, demand for the company’s electric cars could decline. This is another thing that worries investors.
Crashes and recalls and government inquiries into its Autopilot system have also hurt Tesla.
Following is the list of richest people in the world.
- Bernard Arnault
- Elon Musk
- Gautam Adani
- Bill Gates
- Jeff Bezos
- Warren Buffett
- Larry Ellison
- Mukesh Ambani
- Steve Ballmer
- Larry Page
