Elon Musk loses title as world’s richest man for first time in over a year

He had held the title since September 2021

Elon Musk briefly lost title as the world's richest person, according to Forbes.

The Twitter owner and Tesla CEO lost his position in top spot following a steep drop in the value of his stake in the electric-car maker and a $44 billion bet on the social media firm.

Earlier this year, Musk sold stocks of his electric-car company to fund the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.

Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury brand Louis Vuitton's parent company LVMH, and his family briefly held the title of the wealthiest person on the planet, with a personal wealth of $185.4 billion.

https://twitter.com/PubityIG/status/1600528970331881473 But they were soon back at number two in the list.

Musk, who had held the top spot on the Forbes list for world's richest since September 2021 when he overtook Jeff Bezos, has a net worth of $185.3 billion.

Musk's net worth has plunged from its peak of roughly $340 billion in November 2021, when Tesla shares hit an all-time high of $414.50.

Tesla's shares fell about 4 percent in morning trading on Wednesday, which is a major issue for Musk as this is where most of his wealth is tied up.

Tesla has lost nearly half its market value and Musk's net worth has dropped by about $70 billion since he bid for Twitter in April. Musk closed the deal for Twitter in October with $13 billion in loans and a $33.5 billion equity commitment.

Meanwhile, LVMH has performed much more robustly than most in recent months.

The Paris-based company's shares are down just 9.7 percent since the start of the year, outperforming the benchmark S&P 500.

In addition to Louis Vuitton, LVHM controls about 60 subsidiaries comprising a range of prestigious brands, including Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs, Sephora, Bulgari and Tiffany & Co.

Related links:

• Alyssa Milano gave back her Tesla after Elon Musk bought Twitter
• Elon Musk insists he is not suicidal and if he dies unexpectedly it wasn't his own doing
• Elon Musk sleeps with two guns on his bedside table