Arnault wins big on China stimulus with $17 billion wealth surge

Bernard Arnault entered Thursday having lost more wealth this year than any other billionaire, with his luxury-goods fortune slumping by $24 billion.

Then China’s top leaders gave the green light to supercharge stimulus in the world’s second-largest economy. And with that, the French tycoon’s wealth has been given new life.

Arnault’s net worth soared Thursday by $17 billion to $201 billion, his third-largest one-day increase ever, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Shares of his LVMH jumped by 9.9% on bets that stimulus measures from China’s Politburo would revive the nation’s appetite for luxury goods. 

Arnault, 75, now ranks as the world’s fourth-richest person, with his fortune almost entirely tied to his 48% stake in LVMH, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index. Shares of the world’s largest luxury-goods maker by market value have dropped 7.5% since the start of the year, as lackluster China demand and reluctant spending from consumers hurt LVMH’s earnings. 

But the message on Thursday from Chinese officials indicates efforts to revive growth and pledges to support fiscal spending and stabilize the beleaguered property sector, giving some positive momentum to the nation’s weak consumer outlook. 

Asia accounted for 38% of LVMH’s sales in 2023, and China is a large slice of that pie.  

Arnault isn’t the only billionaire beneficiary of China’s stimulus. PDD Holdings Inc. founder Colin Huang, who lost his title as China’s richest person last month after the company forecast tepid sales growth, added $5 billion on Thursday as shares of his e-commerce company surged 14%.