World’s second richest man sells private jet to keep Twitter users from following him
Hot potato: Billionaires seem to love private jets, especially for flights so short that the rest of us would use ground transportation for them. But what about someone who is worth $133 billion when his plane is being followed by Twitter users exposing his environmentally destructive travels? Sell, of course.
According to GizmodoBernard Arnault is the CEO of luxury brand LVMH and the second richest person in the world, with a net worth that puts him above Jeff Bezos and below leader Elon Musk in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Like other members of the club of the rich and famous, Arno prefers the comfort and privacy of a private jet. He is also one of many people whose planes are being tracked on Twitter using public information and transponder signals.
One of these accounts Laviodebernard (Bernard’s Plane) revealed that Arno’s private jet has not been registered in France since September 1, 2022. In a podcast owned by LVMH, the billionaire admitted that the group sold him. “As a result, now no one can see where I’m flying because I rent planes when I use private jets,” he explained.
Bernard’s son, Antoine Arnault, who is also a member of the board of directors of LVMH and director of public relations for Louis Vuitton, said competitors can gain an advantage by knowing where LVMH’s aircraft are. He confirmed that the plane was sold in the summer.
C’est l’heure du bilan du mois de September 2022 for five millionaires:
– number of volumes: 26✈️
– 48.4 hours. about. ⏱️
– vol le plus court: 30 minutes 🤡
– CO2 emissions: 203 tons “””
Premier mois sans l’avion de Bernard Arnault (dont il s’est séparé 🥲) pic.twitter.com/7XNAj26tP7
— I fly with Bernard (@i_fly_Bernard) October 1, 2022
Another Twitter account, I Fly Bernard, noted that the private jets used by millionaires (and presumably billionaires) to and from France emitted 203 tons of CO2 in a 48-hour flight in September alone.
One of the most famous Twitter users who track private jets is Jack Sweeney. He has accounts that track Mark Cuban, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, celebrities and more. He also looks after yachts and private jets Russian oligarchs and monitors the flights of aircraft registered to President Vladimir Putin and Russian dignitaries.
Elon Musk famously offered Sweeney $5,000 to close an account tracking the Tesla boss’ plane, as Musk “didn’t like the idea of being shot by a psycho.” Sweeney said he would clean it up for $50,000, but the richest man in the world never answered him after saying he would consider the offer.
