Business Dialogue

Elon Musk Reclaims Title Of World’s Richest Person

Elon Musk is once again the world’s richest person after leapfrogging French billionaire Bernard Arnault after a slump in the value of Arnault’s LVMH luxury goods empire. The 51-year-old maverick head of Tesla and owner of Twitter has seen his fortune recover to $192bn (£153bn) – up $55bn from the start of the year –while Arnault’s wealth has fallen by $5bn in the past 24 hours to $187bn according to Bloomberg’s daily updated billionaires’ index. Arnault had overtaken Musk as the world’s most wealthy person in December last year after the value of LVMH shares soared amid booming demand for its luxury products. At the same time, Musk’s wealth had fallen as Tesla’s share price slid on investor fears that he might be preoccupied with his recent purchase of Twitter.

Swiss Voters Approve Global Minimum Corporate Tax, Climate Goals

Voters in Switzerland on Sunday approved the introduction of a global minimum tax on businesses and a climate law that aims to cut fossil fuel use and reach zero emissions by 2050, public broadcaster SRF reported. The results showed that almost 80% of those who voted in Sunday’s national referendum backed raising the country’s business tax to the 15% global minimum from the current average minimum of 11%, an unusually strong endorsement. “This ensures that Switzerland will not lose any tax revenue to foreign countries,” Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said. “It will also create legal certainty and a stable framework.”

EU’s Organic Farming Area Covers 15.9 Million Hectares

The area used for organic agricultural production in the EU continues to increase. It expanded from 14.7 million hectares (ha) in 2020 to 15.9 million ha in 2021, the equivalent of 9.9% of the total utilised agricultural area (UAA) in the EU. Between 2012 and 2021, the area used for organic farming increased in almost all EU countries. The area almost quadrupled in Portugal (+283%) and Croatia (+282%), the sharpest rates of increase within the EU. It also grew rapidly in France (+169%) and also more than doubled in Hungary (+125%) and Romania (+101%). The highest shares of organic farming areas within total UAA were in Austria (26% in 2020), Estonia (23% in 2021) and Sweden (20% in 2021). By contrast, the share of organic farming was below 5% in six EU countries in 2021, with the lowest shares in Bulgaria (1.7%) and Malta (0.6%).