Kering founder crashes out of world's 100 richest amid struggles at Gucci

Luxury group expects lowest profit in years as its biggest brand faces weaker demand

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PARIS Mr Francois Pinault, the octogenarian founder of Kering, is no longer among the 100 richest people in the world, as his son struggles to turn around the French luxury conglomerate's biggest brand, Gucci.

Mr Pinault, 88, fell to No. 105 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the first time he has been out of the top one-fifth of the 500-person ranking since his name was added a dozen years ago.

His wealth has dropped by twothirds to US$20.3 billion (S$27.33 billion) through Nov 21 from an August 2021 high, the largest percentage decline of anyone still on the index over the period.

At that time, he was ranked No. 22.

The loss of wealth for the Pinault family is remarkable even amid an overall decline for the luxury sector, which has been hit hard by weaker demand in China for highend goods like designer clothes, fine wines and cosmetics.