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Bloomberg Published December 29, 2024 Reading time
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French billionaires take biggest hit ever on luxury goods slump

By
Bloomberg Published
December 29, 2024

For France’s biggest billionaires, 2024 was a year to forget as their combined fortunes slumped by a record amount on weak luxury-good demand and political instability. 

Bernard Arnault, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and François Pinault, among the world’s richest, saw about $70 billion erased from their collective wealth this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The industry giants they control — LVMH, L’Oréal SA and Kering SA — are some of the biggest losers on the French stock exchange, with the Gucci owner shedding 41% of its value.

The trio have seen their wealth sucker-punched by a selloff in luxury goods and personal care companies. Chinese shoppers have slowed spending on purchases ranging from leather goods to designer gowns and skincare, while companies including Kering’s Gucci label are grappling with new management and strategy. France’s volatile politics — including the collapse of Michel Barnier’s government this month — have also sapped investor appetite for the country’s assets.