French luxury group LVMH, owner of Vuitton, Dior and Givenchy, is the first European company in history to reach a market capitalisation of $500 billion (about €450 billion). This record value is linked to increased demand in countries such as China and a strengthening euro.
LVMH shares rose by 0.3% to €903.7 on Monday. The group was worth €454 billion at the time which, given the euro's sharp rise in recent weeks, is now equivalent to $500 billion. Most analysts expect the share price to increase further.
The new milestone comes after the company reached the top 10 of the world's largest market capitalisations a fortnight ago.
CEO Bernard Arnault is also the richest man in the world, according to the annual Forbes ranking for 2023, published in early April. The businessman has an estimated fortune of $211 billion. He thus overtakes other business leaders such as Tesla boss Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The LVMH group owns 75 brands in the world of fashion, jewellery, cosmetics and also wines and spirits.
