According to "Challenges", the ranking of 500 richest French families has increased by 5% in a single year, to surpass the symbolic threshold of 1,000 billion euros.
Bernard Arnault, boss of luxury brand LVMH, is still at the top of the rankings. His fortune is estimated at 149 Billion Euros, compared to 157 Billion in 2021.
According to Forbes, LVMH shares lost 12% on the Paris Stock Exchange in 12 months. However, Bernard Arnault, whose group owns 40% of "Challenges", was ranked 2nd in the world after Elon Musk, the Tesla boss, according to Forbes.
It is ahead of Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer (heirs to Chanel) in France (80 billion euros) as well as Hermes (78.7 trillion euros). According to "Challenges", the top ten are "half of the total", according to AFP.
The cumulative value of France's 500 richest fortunes has surpassed 1,000 billion euros by 2021. This is due to an increase in value of 5% in the past year. It jumped by 30% last year in the midst the Covid-19 pandemic.
This very exclusive group has a threshold of 200 million euros to gain entry. It cost 19 million euros to get a place in this group during the franc era.
Version 2022 of the "club of 500" includes "about forty new members." The "club of 500" version 2022 does not count professional assets listed or unlisted.
Rodolphe Saade, the owner of CMA-CGM Shipping Company, has made the most progress. He has accumulated 30 billion euros in the last ten years. This is a record set since 1996 when the ranking was created. The magazine points out that his group has been able to benefit from the surge in demand for imported goods and transport fares.
Unicorns, unlisted startups valued at over a billion dollars, are symbols of their meteoric rise, especially in tech. "Challenges", which has 34 shareholders, or founders, is one of the 500 richest French fortunes. The average age of these young shoots is 34. Jacques Gaston Murray, 102 years old, is the dean of this ranking. His fortune is estimated to be 1.6 billion euros. Sicli, a French brand that specializes in fire safety, is his property.
