One woman, five French and a sanctioned Russian: These are Europe's richest people

A European is currently the world’s richest person. 

Bernard Arnault, the holder of the world’s largest luxury retail empire, has been sitting on this throne for a solid week now, sweeping former title holder Elon Musk from the top spot.

But the 73-year-old Frenchman is not the only multi-billionaire on the continent. Alongside him are a handful of the world’s richest people, including one woman, five heads of beauty and clothing empires, and a Russian billionaire currently sanctioned by the US.

Bernard Arnault has an estimated net worth of around €149 billion, a whopping €14 billion above his Tesla and Twitter-owning predecessor Elon Musk.

To put Arnault’s wealth into perspective, it is around ten times higher than the total value of France’s wine and spirits exports in 2021, the country’s second-biggest export.

He is the owner of some of the world’s most famous luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Kenzo, Moet Hennessy and Tiffany & Co.

He has also shaken hands with some of the world’s most powerful - and sometimes most controversial - leaders, such as former US president Donald Trump, his predecessor Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, former French president Francois Hollande and current president Emmanuel Macron.

The following is a list of the richest people in Europe.

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the world’s richest woman, with an estimated net worth of around €66 billion. 

Her net worth is roughly the same size as a third of her country’s pre-COVID-19 travel and tourism sector.

Despite her huge wealth, the 69-year-old from France is only the 13th richest people in the world. But her cosmetic empire might help her get over it, as she is currently the Vice Chair of the board of L’Oréal.

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