Bernard Arnault is now the world’s richest personJanuary 20, 2020 - 10:59 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The planet’s new richest person is Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury goods behemoth LVMH, who dethroned Amazon's Jeff Bezos after gaining $1.9 billion in net worth as LVMH stock edged up by 0.7%, Forbes reports. The Frenchman is currently worth $117 billion, up from $102 billion when he graced the cover of Forbes less than four months ago. “If you compare us to Microsoft, [we are] small,” Arnault told Forbes. “It’s just the beginning.” Bezos' net worth slid by $760 million to $115.6 billion as Amazon shares dipped 0.7%. The nine-figure drop may be a drop in the bucket for Bezos, but it was enough to knock him from first to second place on Forbes’ ranking of the world’s billionaires.. Arnault is $7 billion richer than Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, who remains the third-wealthiest person in the world, behind Arnault and Bezos. Gates would be richer than both men had he not given $35.8 billion, and counting, to charity over his lifetime. Arnault’s LVMH has hit the ground running in 2020. Its beauty incubator, Kendo, recently acquired the rest of Kat Von D’s eponymous beauty brand. And LVMH also bought a tennis-ball-size rough diamond—the second largest in history—from Lucara Diamond Corp. on January 15. The 1,758-carat gem is a timely splurge, since LVMH made a $16.2 billion bid to buy iconic jeweler Tiffany & Co. in November. Tiffany shareholders are due to vote on the deal on February 4, 2020. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |