Five hundred richest French people 'weigh' more than 1,200 billion euros

(Patria) - The wealth of the 500 richest French people exceeds 1,200 billion euros for the first time in 2024, and the number of billionaires is increasing, according to the annual ranking of the economic magazine Challenges published yesterday.

These 500 largest fortunes total 1,228 billion euros, five percent more than in 2023, and the top ten on the list have 693 billion, which is more than half of the total wealth.

At the top, despite a drop in the share price of luxury giant LVMH over the year, is the company's CEO and founder Bernard Arnault with 190 billion euros.

The Hermes family is second with 155 billion, an increase of 17 billion euros, ahead of Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, heirs of Chanel, with 115 billion.

The assets of Bernard Arnault and Francois Pinault of Kering (8th on the ranking with nearly 24 billion euros) "fell by several billion euros, particularly due to difficulties in the Chinese market," which affected stock prices, the magazine reported.

L'Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, with 84 billion euros with her family, ranks fourth and remains the richest French woman on a list dominated by men.

The number of billionaires increased to 147, compared to 141 in 2023 and 67 ten years ago.

The minimum wealth required to make the list of the 500 richest French people is now 245 million euros, compared to 235 last year and 80 million in 2014.

The list includes, among others, in 12th place, the founder of the encrypted messaging service Telegram, Pavel Durov, since he obtained French citizenship, the magazine added.