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Reuters
- The ultra-rich owners of the world’s leading luxury brands took a hit to their fortunes on Tuesday.
- Declines in LVMH and Kering shares cut the value of Bernard Arnault and François Pinault’s stakes.
- Luxury stocks slumped after China’s economic planners failed to detail their stimulus measures.
The billionaires behind some of the world’s most iconic fashion brands took a blow to their fortunes on Tuesday as disappointed investors dumped luxury stocks.
Bernard Arnault, the founder and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, owns nearly 49% of Dior and Sephora’s parent company, filings show. LVMH shares fell as much as 7% in Paris on Tuesday, slashing the value of his stake by about $13 billion, before paring their decline to 3%.
Arnault ranked as the world’s fourth-richest person with a $197 billion net worth at Monday’s market close, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He was the wealthiest person on the planet a few months ago, but flagging demand for luxury goods in China has cut LVMH stock by 11% this year, and his wealth by more than $10 billion.
One of only two people on Bloomberg’s rich list who’ve lost more money this year is Arnault’s arch rival, François Pinault — the founder of Gucci and Balenciaga owner Kering.
Kering shares tanked by as much as 8% on Tuesday, trimming the value of Pinault’s roughly 41% stake by more than $1 billion, before narrowing their decline to 5%. Pinault was 83rd in the wealth rankings with a $24 billion fortune at Monday’s close, down more than $11 billion this year.
Other luxury names suffered similar declines, shrinking the fortunes of their biggest shareholders too. For example, the Dumas family owes most of its estimated $150 billion fortune to Hermès stock, which slid 3% on Tuesday.
Former Richemont CEO Johann Rupert’s family derives the bulk of its $14 billion fortune from the company behind Cartier and Piaget, which dropped 3%.
Moncler CEO Remo Ruffini isn’t quite rich enough to appear on Bloomberg’s index (the lowest-ranked person is worth almost $6.4 billion), but Forbes pegs his net worth at $3.4 billion. The ski-jacket maker’s stock also fell 3% on Tuesday.
Chanel isn’t publicly traded, but Bloomberg’s list shows that co-owners Alain and Gérard Wertheimer were worth about $46.6 billion apiece at Monday’s close. Given the valuation declines across many other luxury brands on Tuesday, they’re probably worth less now.
The selloff was sparked by China’s economic planners holding a press conference but not detailing their stimulus plans. The promise of interest-rate cuts, looser bank regulations, liquidity support, and even a stock stabilization fund had boosted markets worldwide.
