In a year marked by the surge in American stocks, four of the five billionaires who saw their fortunes decline sharply in 2024 are from countries other than the United States.
Article by Judith Goldenberg for Forbes US
For some billionaires, the year 2024 has been synonymous with windfall gains. Elon Musk was the first to cross the $400 billion threshold, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune increased by nearly $92 billion. As of mid-December, the 20 richest people in the world had recorded an exceptional total wealth of $3,000 billion. However, not all billionaires have had a successful year. Slowing growth in China and falling stock markets in Europe have helped reduce the fortunes of hundreds of billionaires. The unease outside the United States is obvious: four of the five biggest billionaires who have seen their fortunes decline sharply this year are not Americans.
Bernard Arnault, of the luxury group LVMH, was the biggest loser of the year, in dollar terms. The year had started well though. The French luxury mogul reigned as the world’s richest person from late January to late May. However, shares of the Paris stock exchange-listed LVMH, which peaked in March, continued to fall from April onwards due to falling demand from Chinese consumers, which wipes out nearly $25 billion from Bernard Arnault’s fortune, a loss of 12.6%. In mid-December, Bernard Arnault was only the fifth richest person in the world according to the real-time billionaires ranking of Forbeswith a fortune estimated at $171.3 billion.
Mexican Carlos Slim Helú is the second biggest loser this year. By far its most valuable asset is its stake in Mexican mobile telecommunications operator América Móvil, which operates in 22 countries in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe. The nearly 20% drop in América Móvil’s shares, combined with the weakening of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar, resulted in a $22.9 billion drop in its fortune, now estimated at $81.3 billion. of dollars.
Weakening consumer demand in China has also significantly dented the fortunes of L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, whose grandfather founded the European cosmetics behemoth. Sales in North Asia, a geographic region that includes China, fell 6.5% in the third quarter, in what the company describes as an ecosystem « difficile » in China. Shares fell nearly 24% through December 13, causing Françoise Bettencourt Meyers to lose $22 billion. Despite this fall, she remains, with $74.7 billion, the second richest woman in the world (behind Alice Walton, heiress to Walmart).
Colin Huang, founder and former chairman of PDD Holdings, the parent company of online retailer Temu, became China’s richest person this summer. However, a sharp 31% drop in PDD Holdings’ stock price starting in August, after the company missed its second-quarter profit forecast, stripped it of that title. Colin Huang ends the year with $15.3 billion less than he started it. His fortune is now estimated at $36 billion.
The fifth biggest loser of the year is Bill Gates. However, the $12 billion drop in his fortune can be explained more by asset transfers than by stock price movements. When Melinda French Gates, the ex-wife of Bill Gates, resigned as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in June, she announced that she would receive $12.5 billion for her philanthropic activities. The origin of the funds was not disclosed, but Forbes learned that the assets came from Bill Gates and not the foundation. Taking into account this transfer of assets and the new information obtained by Forbes on the fortune of Bill Gates, the teams of Forbes have almost tripled their estimates on the divorce agreement: $29 billion by October 2024.
The situation of these billionaires could be worse. Two years ago, the five biggest losers in the ranking Forbes billionaires lost $378 billion (a record amount). The $97 billion in cumulative losses of these five billionaires this year therefore seem to be a walk in the park. Plus, they have plenty of money left to cushion the blow.
Who are the big losers this year? (Estimates as of December 13, 2024)
#1. Bernard Arnault
Country: France
Source of income: Luxury products
Net worth: $171.3 billion (lost $24.7 billion in 2024)
#2. Carlos Slim Helú
Country: Mexico
Source of income: Telecoms, investments
Net worth: $81.3 billion (lost $22.9 billion in 2024)
#3. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers
Country: France
Source of income: L’Oréal
Net worth: $74.7 billion (lost $22 billion in 2024)
#4. Colin Huang
Country: China
Source of income: E-commerce
Net worth: $36 billion (lost $15.3 billion in 2024)
#5. Bill Gates
Country: United States
Source of income: Microsoft, investments
Net worth: $107 billion (lost $12 billion in 2024)
A translation by Flora Lucas
Also read: FORBES BILLIONAIRE RANKING – December 2024 | Who are the ten richest people in the world?
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