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France's Richest Are World Beaters When It Comes to Wealth Gains

Talk about making a fashion statement. France’s richest are ahead of everyone else this year.

France's Richest Are World Beaters When It Comes to Wealth Gains
Bernard Arnault, billionaire and chief executive officer of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, speaks during the inauguration of the LVMH start-up accelerator at Station F technology campus in Paris, France. (Photographer: Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg)  

(Bloomberg) -- Talk about making a fashion statement.

France’s two richest people -- luxury titans Bernard Arnault and Francois Pinault -- added $22.3 billion to their fortunes this year, helping to make their country the most hospitable for wealth creation among billionaires.

The nation’s 13 richest people have collectively become $27.6 billion wealthier -- a relative increase of 12 percent -- since January. That’s almost double the gains seen by the richest in Japan, the second-best performing country on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The 500 wealthiest people in total have gained less than 1 percent.

France's Richest Are World Beaters When It Comes to Wealth Gains

France’s buoyant year can largely be attributed to Arnault, 69, chairman of LMVH, and Pinault, 81, founder of Gucci-owner Kering. Renewed demand for luxury goods from China and a growing presence in e-commerce have lifted sales and propelled both holding groups into the ranks of France’s most valuable companies. A surge in art sales at Pinault’s auction house Christie’s has also contributed. Arnault is Europe’s richest person, worth $76.4 billion, while Pinault’s fortune is valued at $35.5 billion.

France's Richest Are World Beaters When It Comes to Wealth Gains

The rising tides have also added $2.4 billion to the combined fortunes of brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer -- owners of Chanel --and $3.7 billion to the net worth of France’s richest woman, L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers.

Not all the French billionaires on the index have enjoyed a banner year. Telecom magnate Xavier Niel’s net worth has fallen by $2.6 billion to a five-year low as shares of his phone and cable operator, Iliad SA, have tumbled amid shrinking market share.

--With assistance from Peter Eichenbaum

To contact the reporter on this story: Devon Pendleton in London at dpendleton@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Steven Crabill

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.