Highlights:
- After a surge in Tesla shares that increased the net worth of Elon Musk who is on track to become the world’s richest person
- On January 6, the net worth of the founder of SpaceX and Tesla has reached $181 billion
- Since October 2017, Bezos has kept the title of wealthiest person in the world and is currently worth $184 billion
The entrepreneur behind Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, Elon R Musk, is close to surpassing Jeff Bezos as the richest person in the world. On Wednesday, a 2.8 percent rally in the share price of the electric car manufacturer lifted Musk to within $3 billion of Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, who currently ranks top on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a list of the 500 richest people in the world.
The overall wealth of Jeff Bezos is $184 billion, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. With a cumulative wealth of 181 billion dollars, Elon Musk is just below Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos.
Also Read: “Lawlessness And Violence” At US Capitol “antithesis Of Democracy,” Says CEO Of Google
Elon Musk, CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX is also a competitor to Bezos, owner of Blue Origin LLC (Limited Liability Company), in the private space race.
Elon Musk’s value surged by more than $150 billion over the last year in perhaps the quickest bout of wealth creation in history. His rise was driven by an unprecedented rise in the share price of Tesla, which rose 743 percent in 2020 on the back of steady profits, inclusion in the S&P 500 Index and excitement from both Wall Street and retail investors.
Last year, the world’s 500 richest people added a whopping $1.8 trillion to their combined net worth, equivalent to a 31% rise. The gains were hugely disproportionate, with five people owning fortunes in excess of $100 billion and another 20 worth at least $50 billion.
A new wealth record has also been set by China’s Zhong Shanshan. As his fortune has risen from $13.5 billion to $91.7 billion since the beginning of the year, the chairman of Nongfu Spring Co., a China-based bottled-water company, is now wealthier than Warren Buffett. Zhong Shanshan is now the 6th richest person in the world.
Last week, Zhong dethroned India’s Mukesh Ambani as Asia’s wealthiest person. Mukesh Ambani is the 13th richest person in the world, owning $73.9 billion in total net worth.