French Tycoon Earns $17B from China's Economic Boost

In a surprising twist of fortune, Bernard Arnault, the billionaire owner of French luxury conglomerate LVMH, saw his wealth inflate by $17 billion in just one day. This remarkable increase came after China announced new strategies to stimulate its flailing economy—moves some are referring to as much-needed "bazookas" to restore confidence and revive economic growth. 
 
Arnault is not alone in benefiting from these developments. In fact, stocks in both China and Hong Kong have been performing exceptionally well since the announcement, even looking set for their best weekly performances in 16 years, according to Reuters. 
 
Before this turn of events on Thursday, Arnault had suffered significant losses this year due to a slump in the high-end goods market. His fortune had declined by $24 billion, making him the biggest loser amongst billionaires as per Bloomberg Billionaires Index data. 
 
However, hopes that Chinese leaders' efforts will successfully resuscitate their troubled economy caused shares in LVMH to rally under 10% upsurge Paris, which resulted in swelling Arnault's net worth from withered $184 billion back up to an impressive $201 billion by the end of the day. 
 
Earlier this year, LVMH reported a 10% drop in sales during the first half of the year within the Asia region compared with the last fiscal year—a market dominated largely by China, accounting for nearly the third total revenue generated last year. 
 
China’s faltering economy has negatively impacted many Western brands, including luxury houses like LVMH, which relies heavily on consumer spending power within the country. The Asian giant struggles with sluggish consumer spending patterns; persistent property slumps along with mounting local government debt crises have all compounded problems furthermore. 
 
Economists have long called upon Beijing officials to introduce more aggressive measures to boost flagging prospects. The world's second-largest economy is currently at risk of falling short of its own target growth rate of 5%. 
 
This week though it seems pleas haven't fallen deaf ears, "Beijing appears finally determined to roll out its bazooka stimulus in rapid succession," stated analysts at Nomura Investment Bank. They further added, "Beijing's recognition of the severe situation of the economy lacks success; a piecemeal approach should be valued by markets." 
 
Indeed, Chinese and Hong Kong stocks are on track to log their best week since 2008; the Hang Seng index has gained over 12% this week while mainland China’s blue-chip CSI300 has risen more than 15%. 
 
This positive market response followed news that China's top decision-making body, the Politburo, had dedicated its latest meeting solely to economic issues—a deviation from previous procedures. 
 
Under Xi Jinping's leadership, officials pledged to boost fiscal and monetary policies in order to help low- and middle-income citizens as well as improve the declining property market, which is facing its fourth consecutive year of contraction. 
 
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Pan Gongsheng also unveiled measures aimed at supporting businesses, including cutting main interest rates while reducing banks’ reserve requirements, thus freeing up cash for lending. 
 
However, experts warn investors to remain cautious, noting officials still need to devise strategies for stabilizing the country's property sector once accounting for nearly a third economic activity. This began cooling off around 2019 before falling into deep decline two years later following government-led crackdowns on developers' borrowing practices.