The volatility surrounding Elon Musk continues—but this time the outcome is positive for the Tesla CEO and Twitter owner.
Musk has found himself back on top as the world’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index. With a net worth of $187 billion, he’s surpassed Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH, who initially beat out Musk for the title in December, when his $186.2 billion bested Musk’s $185 billion. But now the tables have turned once again, and Arnault finds himself in second place with $186 billion, stumbling slightly after enjoying a stint above $190 billion.
The switcheroo is in large part thanks to Tesla’s successful start to the year. Demand is growing for the company’s electric vehicles, and its stock had risen a whopping 92 percent as of February 27. As a result, since January 1, Musk has gained $50.1 billion. It’s an impressive turnaround for the Tesla chief, who became the first person to lose $200 billion earlier this year. Still, his current net worth is down from its peak of more than $300 billion in late 2021.
Part of the overall decline was due to Musk’s contentious purchase of Twitter, for which he sold more than $20 billion of Tesla stock. And he may have one-upped Arnault even faster had he not given 11.6 million Tesla shares to a unnamed charity, a move he disclosed recently. Donated between August and December, the stock was worth about $1.9 billion, according to Bloomberg. (Although much of Musk’s wealth is related to Tesla stock, his shares in the space exploration company SpaceX continue to make up a larger part of his net worth.)
While Musk is back on top for now, he and Arnault will perhaps keep jockeying for that premier spot, given their net worths differ by only a few billion dollars. The two CEOs are way out in front of the pack, though: The third-richest person in the world, Jeff Bezos, has a net worth of just $117 billion, a measly sum compared with Musk and Arnault.
Musk’s regaining of the richest-person title is certainly welcome news for the man who’s still riding out a wave of negative publicity from his purchase of Twitter and Tesla’s less-than-stellar 2022. If only he’s able to hold on to the superlative before the next anvil comes crashing down.
