Because of the growth of Tesla’s shares, Elon Musk became the richest person in the world, hitting a net worth of more than $185 billion.
The surge of Elon Musk’s wealth over the past year marked the fastest rise to the top of the richest people list in history.
The value of shares of Elon Musk’s electric car company increased by 5.38% to $796.38, which allowed its founder to get ahead of Jeff Bezos and become the richest man in the world.
Back in early 2020, Musk's fortune was estimated at about $27 billion, and the businessman was barely among the top 50 richest people. In July 2020, however, Musk became the seventh richest person in the world, when Tesla shares overcame the significant milestone of $1,500, making the company’s CEO fortune increase to $70.5 billion. In November 2020, Elon Musk was already the second richest person in the world as his net worth jumped by $7.2 billion to $128 billion after Tesla’s shares surged again.
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However, stable earnings and inclusion in the S&P 500 index allowed the stock to skyrocket 743%. This led to an increase in Musk's fortune by more than $150 billion, more than the entire fortune of Bill Gates ($132 billion).
The entrepreneur himself reacted rather briefly to this news. "How strange," he tweeted when expressing his attitude to what had happened, and then he wrote in the next tweet: "Well, let's get back to work."
How strange
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
Well, back to work …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
In early January 2021, Tesla reported the release of more than 509 thousand cars in 2020, which was in line with the company's original plans. At the same time, the company sold 499 thousand cars, lacking only 450 sales in order to fulfill Musk's promise that in 2020 Tesla would be able to reach the mark of 500 thousand cars sold. In June 2020, Tesla was recognized as the world’s most valuable carmaker.
Elon Musk owns 20% of Tesla's shares, as well as options on the company's shares worth $42 billion. The market capitalization of the electric car manufacturer exceeds $750 billion. Bezos's fortune is estimated at $184 billion, and he has held the title of the richest person on the planet since 2017. The official ratings of Forbes and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index have not yet been updated.
