More than $9 billion was wiped from French billionaire Bernard Arnault’s fortune Tuesday morning after shares of his luxury goods conglomerate LVMH slumped by more than 7% following an unexpected drop in first quarter sales.
Key Takeaways
- LVMH reported a 3% decline in sales compared to the same three-month period last year, in its 2025 first quarter earnings report, which was published shortly after markets closed in Europe on Monday.
- The sales numbers were significantly lower than analyst estimates , which, according to Reuters, projected 2% growth.
- The company’s biggest revenue decline was reported in its Wines & Spirits business, down 9%, while Fashion & Leather Goods were the second worst hit, down 5%.
- The company’s Paris-listed shares are down 7.53% to $554.76 (€490.05) in afternoon trading on Tuesday.
- The firm’s market cap has fallen to $277 billion (€244.72 billion), meaning rival Hermès is now the world’s most valuable luxury brand.
Forbes Valuation
According to our estimates, LVMH CEO and Chairman Bernard Arnault’s net worth stands at $146.5 billion as of Tuesday morning. Despite this, Arnault remains Europe’s richest person and the sixth richest in the world on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list.
Big Number
$279.82 billion (€247.24 billion). That its the market cap of Hermès as of Tuesday afternoon in Paris. Hermès’ shares fell slightly to $2,650.76 (€2,342.00) in afternoon trading, down around 0.3% from Monday.
