Who is the richest person in the world? Many might guess entrepreneurial tycoons and tech legends like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, but the richest person’s source of wealth is actually almost 200 years old! The richest person in the world is Bernaud Arnault and his family with a net worth of $214.4 billion, which is nearly $30 billion more than Elon Musk’s net worth. Arnault is the founder and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury brands company. LVMH boasts prestigious brands such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Tiffany & Co., Christian Dior, Givenchy, Sephora, Hennessy, Belvedere, and Princess Yachts. They refer to their brands as “Houses”, which just goes to show how extra fancy they are. It actually blows my mind that luxury products can produce more wealth than Amazon or Tesla! France is home to the richest person in the world, but what about other countries? The team at Madison Trust Company has created this fascinating visualization of the net worth of each country’s wealthiest person and the industries that has provided these behemoth fortunes. Take a look:
The data Madison Trust Company used came from the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List on March 7th, 2023. I just checked today and Bernard Arnault & family’s net worth has increased around $22 billion in less than two months! Absolutely mind-blowing. Luxury goods sales actually surged during the pandemic. Why? The shutdown of restaurants, travel, and entertainment left people with plenty of disposable income, so purchasing material goods, especially online, became a popular outlet. The pandemic also fueled a “life is short” mentality which also significantly contributed to changes in spending habits.
From a design perspective, I really appreciate the color coding used to indicate the sources of wealth, although I am sure there would be some debate if Tesla and SpaceX should be considered transportation or technology. What do you think? Sound off in the comments below!
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