Billionaires knock on China’s fences

The billionaires’ visit stimulated shares of their companies after traveling to China this week, and “smiled luck” to Elon Musk, reclaiming his title as the richest person in the world from the French billionaire Bernard Arnault, while the chief executive of J.P. Morgan, Jamie Dimon, said he might run for government office to serve his country while visiting China.

After LVMH CEO Arnault lost the world’s richest title, with bitter declines in shares of his luxury goods company, sources revealed to Bloomberg that he plans to route China’s fences this month, following the reopening of the country from pandemic-era lockdowns that have hampered sales of luxury goods in one of the world’s largest consumer markets.

Press sources said the billionaire’s visit would be the first since before the Covid pandemic, adding that the trip could be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.

The visit coincides with growing fears about China’s economic recovery, which slowed last month, and follows a decline in shares of some of the world’s luxury goods companies – from Louie Vetton, to Hermes International – after a strong rally earlier this year.

On Wednesday, Arnault lost his status as the richest person in the world to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, after shares in his luxury empire “LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton” fell in Paris. Although planning for China’s trip began before the sharp declines last week.

Beijing was opening the red carpet to global business leaders – including JP Morgan’s CEO, and Musk – to allay fears that the country could become more hostile to foreign capital and counter the political agenda of Western countries urging less reliance on China.

Brands are stepping up their efforts to attract young Chinese, with the large-spending Generation Z of the mainland expected to make the world’s largest luxury market by 2025 – displacing the United States and Europe. Shoppers are already some of the world’s most influential shoppers, accounting for nearly a fifth of the global luxury market of $325.4 billion, according to PwC.