(Bloomberg) -- LVMH is turning out to be Europe’s reply to what Big Tech has been to the US.

The French conglomerate’s market value has jumped by €66 billion ($70 billion) just in the second half of this year, lifting Chairman Bernard Arnault into the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index this week, overtaking Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk. The rally adds to years of big gains for LVMH and its French rivals, Birkin bag maker Hermes International and Gucci owner Kering SA. 

Like tech behemoths Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. in the US, the luxury companies have helped power equity indexes higher and attracted legions of true believers in the investment world. Unlike Big Tech, though, the fashion and jewelry purveyors have mostly weathered this year’s market plunge, helped by the strength of their brands and optimism about a resurgence in Chinese demand.

“Unlike tech companies, which can fail by missing an industrial trend, big luxury conglomerates such as LVMH are well diversified in long-lasting brands,” said Roland Kaloyan, head of European equity strategy at Societe Generale SA, listing areas such as fashion, jewelry and alcohol.

LVMH has gotten a boost in the second half from China’s slow-motion reopening from Covid-19 shutdowns, and analysts see more gains next year on the back of consumer demand in that key market. All but five of the 37 brokers tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying the stock. 

Since the broad market bottomed in 2009 during the financial crisis, the shares have returned about 2,300% including dividends, versus 2,600% for Hermes, almost 1,700% for Kering and 357% for the broad Stoxx Europe 600 Index. 

Still, valuations look attractive relative to peers. LVMH, which owns brands ranging from Louis Vuitton to Dom Perignon champagne, trades at 23 times estimated earnings. That’s cheaper than peers in the MSCI Europe Textiles Apparel & Luxury Goods Index and well below Tesla’s 29 times. 

While surging inflation and rising interest rates have rocked global stock markets in recent months, they haven’t much dented LMVH’S appeal to shoppers and investors. Its latest leg higher has boosted its market value to about 359 billion euros, making it Europe’s largest company.

“Luxury is not a proxy for the general economy,” Jean-Jacques Guiony, chief financial officer of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said in October. 

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