Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett are among the world's most well-known billionaires. But Bernard Arnault (and his family) is actually the world's richest person, according to Forbes. However, on May 23, Arnault lost a whopping $11 billion.

With $11 billion, Arnault could have purchased the NFL's Washington Commanders, Beyonce and Jay-Z's new California home, a ticket to space with Virgin Galactic, the Hope Diamond, and still had billions of dollars left over. 

Don't feel too bad for Arnault -- what lowered his net worth is the same force that made him the world's richest person. And he can easily regain his lost billions by doing one simple thing.

How Arnault became the world's richest person

Back in 1984, the parent company of fashion house Christian Dior went bankrupt. Consequently, Bernard Arnault used wealth from the family business and a team of investors to purchase the company at a cheap price. From there, Arnault turned Christian Dior into a profitable company and acquired other luxury brands.

Arnault also invested directly in luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMUY -0.06%), or simply LVMH, over time. Moreover, his company Christian Dior did the same thing. Between direct and indirect ownership, Arnault now owns roughly half of LVMH.

LVMH stock has performed quite well over the past five years -- it's up about 150%. And with a market capitalization of roughly $440 billion as of this writing, this ownership position in LVMH stock has allowed Arnault to jump past the likes of Bezos and Musk to become the world's richest person.

How Arnault lost $11 billion in a day

According to Forbes, Arnault's net worth was recently just over $200 billion. But on May 23, LVMH stock dropped by about 5%. Therefore, this lowered Arnault's wealth by about $11 billion. 

Arnault's lead over Tesla CEO Elon Musk is smaller than it was, although the luxury-goods baron still has an edge. According to the The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk's net worth is currently at $180 billion, compared to a net worth of $192 billion for Arnault.

What it means for regular folks

I don't believe regular folks should invest in the stock market expecting to become billionaires like Arnault and Musk. However, many of the world's top billionaires increased their wealth exponentially through ownership stakes in public companies, clearly demonstrating that the stock market is a powerful vehicle for creating long-term wealth. And it's a vehicle that anybody can ride.

However, if investing in individual companies, one most be prepared to see an investment go down in value from time to time. Arnault's $11 billion loss is noteworthy here. There's no concrete explanation for why it dropped 5% in value in a single day. Stock market volatility is simply a reality -- stocks can jump higher or drop lower over short periods of time, with little to no explanation.

Over the long term, the stock market is far more predictable. Companies that can increase their revenue and earnings potential over three-year, five-year, and 10-year spans tend to see their stock prices increase as well. 

Identifying these companies isn't necessarily easy. It takes vision, optimism, and some basic understanding of finances for businesses. But it is possible.

But there's one factor that robs many investors of big gains: selling good companies when the stock price falls. Nobody wants to lose money. And when stock prices fall, it can trigger a fear response from shareholders, who then sell prematurely at bad prices.

This is why one of the principles of investing the Motley Fool way is holding through market volatility. Consistently selling long-term winners when they're down can undermine wealth creation over time. But holding through market volatility allows more opportunity for the stock market to work its magic.

One thing's for sure: Arnault didn't sell his stake in LVMH stock just because he lost $11 billion in a single day. The company has made him the multibillionaire that he is today. And he can recoup his lost billions if LVMH continues to grow its business and Arnault hangs on to his stake.