Elon Musk is no longer the world’s richest person according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire ranking. Musk’s worth has been toppled by LVMH Chief Executive – Bernard Arnault. The controversial star’s popularity appears to be waining too, after he was booed when he was introduced as a surprise guest at a Dave Chappelle comedy show.
In recent days, Musk appeared to be taken by surprise when he was booed by the audience after joining the comedian Dave Chappelle on stage in San Francisco, who introduced Musk with the line: “Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for the richest man in the world.” When the “richest man in the world” went up the stage, a resounding chorus of boos drowned out the initial cheers from the crowd.
The father of 10 was wearing an “I love Twitter” T-shirt with Chapelle remarking: “Cheers and boos I see.” The stand-up added: “All of those people who are booing, I’m just pointing out the obvious, they have terrible seats. It’s all coming from way up there.” When Musk thanked the stand-up for having him on stage Chapelle again referenced the billionaire’s dream of colonizing Mars by saying: “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this opportunity. The first comedy club on Mars, that should be mine. A deal’s a deal Musk.” He also advised Musk as booing continued: “Don’t say nothing. It will only spoil the moment. Do you hear that sound Elon? That’s the sound of pending civil unrest.” The comic also made Musk scream into the microphone: “I’m rich b****” in reference to a sketch in which Chapelle impersonated funk star Rick James.
Forbes and Bloomberg in charge of tracking the wealth of billionaires across the globe, reported that Musk had lost the top spot to France’s Bernard Arnault – the chief executive of the luxury group LVMH. Elon Musk lost his title as the world’s richest person on Wednesday, according to Forbes following a steep drop in the value of shares in the electric car company Tesla and a $44 billion bet on the social media firm. Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury goods group LVMH, has overtaken with a worth of $188 billion toppling Musk’s $178 billion.
Musk has the largest share in Tesla, 14 per cent, while he splashed $44 billion on Twitter in October, for which he used shares in Tesla to help pay for the buyout. Tesla has also faced lawsuits over its autopilot mode and had many recalls.
On the other hand, LVMH controls around 60 subsidiaries that each manage a small number of prestigious brands, including Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Loewe, Sephora, TAG Heuer, Bulgari, and Tiffany and Co.
