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Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, whose grandfather cofounded Chanel with Coco Chanel, gained nearly $5 billion apiece last week. The brothers’ estimated fortunes of $48.1 billion each put them 29th and 30th in the wealth rankings.
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These five individuals all rank among France’s six wealthiest people, along with Rodolphe Saadé, the chairman of logistics giant CMA CGM Group and the world’s 44th richest person after a $15 billion wealth jump this year.
Wear and tear
Prior to last week, Arnault was the world’s biggest wealth loser this year with a $30 billion drop. But that decline was virtually erased by the LVMH stock surge, leaving him only $300 million in the red at Friday’s close.
His luxury peers haven’t been so lucky, however. Pinault has shed the third-most wealth with a near-$10 billion decline, while Bettencourt Meyers places fifth on that unflattering list with a $6.2 billion drop. As for the Wertheimers, they’re up about $1 billion going into the fourth quarter.
Despite their significant gains, the French quintet is still far less rich than at its peak. Arnault was worth $24 billion more at $231 billion in March, which made him the world’s wealthiest person at the time.
Bettencourt Meyers was $7.5 billion richer at $101 billion in June, while the Chanel siblings were each worth about $6.4 billion more at roughly $55 billion around the same time. Pinault was worth over $11 billion more at $36.7 billion in February.
Of course, their $422 billion of joint wealth is still staggering. It makes the five more valuable together than Procter & Gamble, Home Depot, or Costco, which are each valued at between $390 billion and $410 billion.