Bernard Arnault's LVMH empire just smashed the $500 billion market-value barrier, eclipsing Exxon and tailing Tesla

• Bernard Arnault's luxury-goods empire LVMH just became the first European company to top $500 billion in market cap.
• The French conglomerate is now chasing Tesla for the ninth spot among the world's most valued companies.
• The achievement comes on the back of strong demand for luxury goods in China and a strengthening euro.

Bernard Arnault's luxury-goods empire Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, commonly known as LVMH, just became the first European company to ever surpass $500 billion in market valuation.

The French conglomerate controlled by the world's richest person is now chasing Elon Musk's Tesla for the ninth place on a list of the world's largest companies by market capitalization, per Bloomberg, after recently breaking into the top 10.

Tesla's market cap sits at $505 billion, after the EV maker reported a slump in profit following its aggressive price cuts in recent months. The figure for ExxonMobil was $481.2 billion as of Monday, according to YCharts data.

The milestone for LVMH comes after the multinational holding company reported better-than-expected sales in the first three months of 2023, amid strong demand for luxury goods in China where shoppers are splurging on watches, handbags and other expensive items.

It also reflects a strengthening of the euro, which recently reached its highest level in over a year, amid dollar weakness fueled by expectations that economic headwinds in the US that will force the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates later this year.

Shares of the Paris-based company are up 28% this year. The rising value of the owner of Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Christian Dior has boosted the wealth of Arnault, whose net worth climbed to $213 billion on Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Earlier this month, Arnault became the first person outside the US to surpass the $200 billion milestone and the third person to ever reach that level of wealth after Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the past.