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Elon Musk Briefly Loses Forbes' Crown as World's Richest Person

It was snatched by luxury-brand boss Bernard Arnault.

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elon musk, dressed in a tuxedo, glances over his shoulder

Elon Musk lost his title for a moment on Wednesday.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Elon Musk was briefly overtaken Wednesday as the world's richest person, according to Forbes. LVMH CEO and chairman Bernard Arnault and his family snagged the title with a net worth of $185.8 billion, slightly edging out the Twitter owner, by $400 million. Reported earlier by Reuters, the news comes on the heels of Tesla shares dropping in value. 

Forbes' ever-changing Real-Time Billionaires list reflected Musk's short stay in second place this morning. Utilizing stock market changes, rankings are updated every five minutes each day. Before today, the Tesla founder had maintained the top position on the list since September 2021, but his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter affected his fortune, causing it to dip below $200 billion. 

Tesla shareholders, believing Musk's main focus shifted to Twitter, let go of Tesla stock in droves this year. Musk himself sold nearly 20 million shares, worth roughly $4 billion, in the electric car company. His roles as CEO/owner of Tesla, Twitter, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company contribute to his wealth. Though Musk was temporarily dethroned today, Forbes' billionaire rankings continue to fluctuate during day trading hours.