TOPLINE
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos overtook French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault as the second-wealthiest person in the world Monday morning after LVMH’s shares fell and Amazon shares slightly increased—and the pair continued to flip-flop throughout the day for the title.
KEY FACTS
Bezos had a net worth of about $204.3 billion as of just after 4 p.m. EDT on Monday—an increase of about $2.4 billion on the day—according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List.
Arnault, who oversees the LVMH empire of luxury fashion and cosmetics brands like Louis Vuitton and Sephora, was just behind Bezos with a net worth of $203.9 billion, down $4.3 billion as of 4 p.m.
Shares of Arnault’s LVMH were down 2.21% at market close Monday, while Amazon shares were up 1.5%, helping Bezos’ net worth slightly increase.
The wealthiest person in the world remains Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who Forbes estimates to have a net worth of $207.8 billion as of Monday afternoon.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
How the pair continues to flip throughout the day. As of 4 p.m., Bezos and Arnault had swapped the No. 2 and No. 3 spots at least four times.
KEY BACKGROUND
The top of our billionaires tracker has seen a number of changes in recent weeks. Prior to Bezos passing Arnault, Musk and Arnault were jostling for the position of wealthiest person in the world. Amazon is trading up more than 6% over the last three months, while Tesla is up only 0.39% and LVMH has fallen 12.99% over the same period. Musk’s fortune has fluctuated this year as Tesla stock has struggled, but Musk could run away with the No. 1 spot if Tesla shareholders vote to reinstate his $50 billion pay package on Thursday, which would increase his equity in Tesla from 13% to 22%.
TANNGET
Earlier this year, Bezos was going back and forth with Musk for the position of second-wealthiest person in the world and wealthiest in the U.S. The pair swapped spots 13 times in March, and prior to that, Musk had not lost his status as the richest person in the U.S. for more than two years.