Forbes: Arnault confirmed as world's richest, Ferrero (26th) first Italian

Frenchman Bernard Arnault, head of luxury multinational Lvmh, is confirmed as the richest person in the world, according to Forbes' annual ranking. His wealth is estimated at 233 billion dollars, 22 billion more than in 2023, thanks to another record year for his conglomerate, which owns iconic brands such as Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. Behind him are Elon Musk (Tesla) with 195 billion and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) with 194 billion. The richest Italian remains Giovanni Ferrero, head of the group of the same name, who occupies 26th position with 43.8 billion dollars in assets. The second richest Italian is Andrea Pignataro with 27.5 billion (65th overall), followed by Giorgio Armani with 11.3 billion (177th position).

Among those with assets over a billion dollars, the youngest is 19-year-old Brazilian heiress Livia Voigt. Granddaughter and heir of the founder of the electrical machinery and equipment company Weg - Werner Ricardo Voigt - the young woman takes the place of Italian Clemente Del Vecchio, the youngest of the six children of Luxottica founder Leonardo. Thanks to the same share of the inheritance received on the death of the 85-year-old entrepreneur - 3% - Livia's 26-year-old sister Dora Voigt also made the Forbes list. Both count on a fortune of $1.1 billion and have no role in the company. Two more heirs of the family are on the new entry of the 'paperon' list. They are Eduardo Voigt Schwartz and Mariana Voigt Schwartz Gomes, with a fortune of USD 1.3 billion achieved mainly through the 4% of Weg shares they inherited.

According to Forbes' calculations, there are 2,871 billionaires, 141 more than in 2023, and they are worth $14.2 trillion, or $2 trillion more than last year.