Trump threatens to hit French wine exports... Bernard Arnault loses $12.5 billion in one day
Trump threatens to hit French wine exports... Bernard Arnault loses $12.5 billion in one day
The luxury goods giant LVMH suffered sharp market losses, with its shares on the Paris stock exchange falling by more than 3% to settle at €565.10 (approximately $663) on Tuesday. This came in the wake of surprise statements by US President Donald Trump, who threatened to impose a 200% tariff on French wine and champagne. These developments followed Trump's hint, during a press conference in Miami, at the possibility of penalizing French products in response to French President Emmanuel Macron's reported refusal to join the US-led peace initiative for Gaza, which Trump dubbed the "Gaza Peace Council." Trump sarcastically remarked, "I will put a 200% tariff on their wine and champagne, and they will join." These statements did not go unnoticed in the financial markets, as they caused a sharp drop in the fortune of Bernard Arnault, Europe's richest man, who lost an estimated $12.5 billion in just 24 hours, according to Forbes. Although Arnault still ranks…