The Bloomberg real-time billionaire tracker now has the two multi-billionaires within $ 3 billion of each other, with Bezos at $ 184 billion and Musk at $ 181 billion. Bill Gates is now a distant third at $ 132 billion, Bloomberg said.
Another profit in Tesla(TSLA) According to Forbes’ calculations, the stock increased Musk’s net worth by $ 4.1 billion to $ 165.4 billion. But Forbes doesn’t seem to give Musk credit for the value of the options he received in 2020 to buy an additional 33.6 million shares of Tesla.
Musk is also the main shareholder in SpaceX, another company of which he is CEO, although SpaceX is privately owned, so its value doesn’t fluctuate as much as Tesla’s value.
Bezos’ stake in Amazon stock increased by $ 75 billion to $ 173.3 billion in 2020, given the massive increase in sales resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
But that was nothing compared to Musk’s possession in Tesla. The 170 million shares of Tesla that he already owns rose in value by $ 106 billion in 2020, while the shares are up 743% over the year.
The value of his stock options he owned at the beginning of the year increased by $ 14.2 billion, while the new options he received during the year as part of his pay package had a value at the end of the year of $ 21.5 billion.
Musk caught Gates for the title of the world’s second richest person in late November, but Tesla shares have since appreciated 45%, increasing Musk’s net worth by $ 53 billion in recent months.
Tesla shares are off to a good start in 2021, and are up another $ 50.31 per share or 7% since the beginning of this year. That has increased Musk’s holdings and options in Tesla by another $ 11 billion this year. Meanwhile, Amazon’s stock lost nearly 4% of its value.
Musk is eligible for options to buy an additional 16.9 million shares of Tesla early this year, according to company files. Those options would be worth $ 11.6 billion at the current value of the stock, taking into account the exercise price.
Bezos has no Amazon stock options, just the 53.2 million shares he owns as the founder of the company. He would have had more if he hadn’t given 19.7 million shares to his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, in his divorce. Bezos has also sold or given away stock as part of his charitable donations. Musk has never sold Tesla stock.
It’s not just Bezos who is about to capture Musk. ExxonMobil, the United States’ most valuable oil company, has a market value of $ 188.6 billion. So Musk, who is the biggest advocate of switching drivers around the world from gas and diesel cars to electric vehicles, is worth nearly as much as one of America’s largest oil companies.
