On Friday, Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault, the first and second richest individuals in the world respectively, had a lunch meeting in Paris. The meeting took place at a luxurious hotel ahead of a technology conference hosted by a company owned by Arnault, where Musk was scheduled to speak.
According to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of Twitter, has a net worth of $236.9 billion, while Bernard Arnault, the Founder-CEO of Louis Vuitton, is estimated to have a net worth of $233.4 billion. However, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index provides slightly different estimates, placing their fortunes at $233 billion and $202 billion respectively, still making them the top billionaires on their list.
In recent months, Musk and Arnault have been trading the title of the world’s richest person, with Musk once again surpassing Arnault at the end of May.
The meeting between the two billionaires took place at Cheval Blanc, a luxury hotel chain that falls under the Louis Vuitton conglomerate. Bernard Arnault, aged 74, was accompanied by his sons Antoine and Alexandre, while Elon Musk, aged 51, was joined by his mother, Maye Musk.
The exact purpose of the meeting was not disclosed, but Arnault, who hails from France, described Musk as an “exceptional entrepreneur” and mentioned that they are acquainted in an interview before the lunch.
During his visit to France, Elon Musk also had a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the possibility of establishing a Tesla factory in the country. President Macron shared a photo of their meeting on Twitter, captioning it “Let’s work together! #ChooseFrance.”
