Microsoft founder Bill Gates dropped to third place for the first time in the seven-year history of the billionaire index, writes Bloomberg, citing its calculated Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI).
On Tuesday, aFrench businessman, the Chairman and Chief Executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy Bernard Arnault rose to second place on the list. According to Bloomberg, “LVMH, Arnault’s luxury-goods maker, advanced to a record in Paris and pushed his net worth to $107.6 billion and ahead of Gates by more than $200 million.”
Last month, Arnault’s fortune for the first time exceeded $ 100 billion, and he entered the top three rankings, joining Gates and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world. The collective wealth of the top three exceeds the individual market value of almost every company in the S&P 500, including Walmart, Exxon Mobil and Walt Disney.
At the same time, the agency clarifies that Gates would have remained the richest man in the world, if not for charitable activities. Gates donated over $ 35 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The net asset value of Bezos this year rose to 125 billion dollars, even after reaching a divorce agreement with Mackenzie Bezos, thanks to which she became the fourth richest woman in the world.
The BBI is calculated based on the value of shares in companies in which billionaires have shares. For some companies, the calculation is based on the ratio of the company’s capitalization to EBITDA or share price to earnings per share. Total BBI ranking includes the 500 richest people in the world.
