Forbes magazine lists 43 French billionaires in 2022, one more than last year. And to get an idea, an average Frenchman would have to work 3.5 million years without stopping to match Bernard Arnault’s fortune, France’s largest fortune.
The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically exacerbated inequality. An Oxfam report published in January 2022 shows that billionaires have become wealthier during the health crisis than in a decade. In France, Forbes counts 43 billionaires in its latest ranking of the world’s richest. In 2021 this very closed circle consisted of 42 people.
Bernard Arnault, who became the richest man in the world for a while in 2021, remains without a doubt the richest Frenchman. Its capital is estimated at 156 billion dollars, double that of Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the heiress of L’Oréal, the second in this ranking. To give you an idea of what this amount represents, Statistics estimates that a Frenchman who paid around 40,000 euros a year would have to work non-stop for 3.5 million years to catch up with the wealth of the CEO of LVMH. Only ninth in 2021, Rodolphe Saadé has quadrupled his fortune in a year to invite himself for third. Little known to the general public, he is the boss of CMA CGM, the third largest shipping company in the world.
Proof that luxury works well: François Pinault, at the head of Kering (Gucci, etc.) and Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, the leaders of Chanel, closely follow the top three. The much-discussed Xavier Niel is eighth, preceded by the very discreet boss of Lactalis Emmanuel Besnier.
Musk, the largest fortune ever recorded
On a global level, there are few changes to report in the top 10. With an estimated net worth of $219 billion, Elon Musk stole first place from Jeff Bezos. The Tesla and Space X boss is “the first to cross the $200 billion mark: a fortune that has increased in large part thanks to the meteoric rise in Tesla’s valuation,” explains Forbes. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has lost 6 billion euros in one year and has been relegated to the second position. He remains at the head of a $171 billion fortune. Frenchman Bernard Arnault remains the third richest man in the world.
Regulars of the top 10, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Larry Page and Sergey Brin are here. The only notable fact this year, Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Facebook, leaves the top 5 and drops to 15th place.
The 10 largest French fortunes:
1st – Bernard Arnault and his family / Total fortune: 156 billion dollars
2nd – Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and her family / $74.8 billion
3rd – Rodolphe Saadé and his family / $41.4 billion
4th – François Pinault and his family / $40.4 billion
Joint 5th – Alain Wertheimer / $31.2 Billion
Joint 5th – Gerard Wertheimer / $31.2 Billion
7th – Emmanuel Besnier / $23.5 Billion
8th – Xavier Niel / $8.9 Billion
Joint 9th – Laurent Dassault / $8.4 Billion
Joint 9th – Thierry Dassault / $8.4 Billion
Joint 9th – Marie-Hélène Dassault / $8.4 billion
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