Share
News

Elon Musk Is Now the Richest Person in the World

Share

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has surpassed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to become the richest person in the world, just months after passing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Thursday showed Musk worth $195 billion, Bezos at $185 billion and Gates in third place at $134 billion.

The index estimated Musk’s net worth at about $181 billion on Wednesday before a nearly 8 percent stock rally Thursday by Tesla, outpacing Amazon’s gains that day.

Musk, 49, responded to the news on Twitter by saying, “How strange.”

Trending:
Fani Willis Throws a Tantrum to Jim Jordan as Contempt Deadline Arrives

In a follow-up tweet, he wrote, “Well, back to work …”

Tesla’s stock, which accounts for a majority of Musk’s net worth, has continued to surge in 2021 after helping the company rise in value by over 700 percent last year, Fox News reported.

Musk’s wealth grew last year by $100.3 billion. He was ranked 35th on Bloomberg’s index in January 2020.

Are you surprised by this surge?

Tesla shares surged by almost 28 percent in the days after the news that Tesla will be admitted to the S&P 500 index on Dec. 21.

“The carmaker’s entry to the S&P 500 means a slew of big investment funds that duplicate the index’s holdings may be forced to buy an estimated $40 billion worth of Tesla shares to avoid errors tracking the index’s performance,” the New York Post reported.

Tesla is the most valuable carmaker in the world, passing Toyota in July 2020.

Musk also is successful outside of this planet after he successfully launched two NASA astronauts into space with SpaceX in May.

Related:
Elon Musk Admits to Taking Ketamine, Says Using the Substance Is Good for His Investors

The astronauts returned to Earth two months later in a landmark achievement for the company, which is valued at about $49 billion, according to Fox News.

SpaceX ultimately aims to fly humans to Mars during this new era of space travel.

Musk surpassed Gates on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in November, and his portfolio grew over the past year by more than Gates’ current net worth of $134 billion.

Bezos’ Amazon has grown into the third-largest publicly traded company in the world, currently measured at $1.6 trillion by market capitalization.

He also owns The Washington Post.

The Bloomberg index is a daily ranking of the world’s richest people and is updated at the close of every trading day.

CORRECTION, Jan. 11, 2020: This article previously gave an incorrect figure for Amazon’s market capitalization. The company’s market cap is $1.6 trillion.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , ,
Share
Erin Coates was an editor for The Western Journal for over two years before becoming a news writer. A University of Oregon graduate, Erin has conducted research in data journalism and contributed to various publications as a writer and editor.
Erin Coates was an editor for The Western Journal for over two years before becoming a news writer. She grew up in San Diego, California, proceeding to attend the University of Oregon and graduate with honors holding a degree in journalism. During her time in Oregon, Erin was an associate editor for Ethos Magazine and a freelance writer for Eugene Magazine. She has conducted research in data journalism, which has been published in the book “Data Journalism: Past, Present and Future.” Erin is an avid runner with a heart for encouraging young girls and has served as a coach for the organization Girls on the Run. As a writer and editor, Erin strives to promote social dialogue and tell the story of those around her.
Birthplace
Tucson, Arizona
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated with Honors
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, University of Oregon
Books Written
Contributor for Data Journalism: Past, Present and Future
Location
Prescott, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, French
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Health, Entertainment, Faith




Conversation