Tesla CEO Elon Musk surpassed Amazon.com founder Jeffrey Bezos as the world’s richest person on Thursday. A jump in the price of Tesla stock increased the value of its assets on paper to more than $ 188 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Tesla shares were up more than 7% Thursday, propelling Musk’s net worth to $ 1.5 billion above Bezos’ fortune, Bloomberg said, citing data tracked by his asset index. Shares of the electric car manufacturer have had a spectacular run over the past year, dropping nearly 800% from about $ 92 a year ago to over $ 811 in Thursday’s trading.
Musk responded on Twitter to an account that indicated he was now the richest person in the world, replying, “How strange.” He later added, ‘Well, back to work …’
Tesla’s stock was added to the S&P 500 last month. The company’s $ 768 billion value is higher than that of Ford, GM, Volkswagen and Toyota combined.
Musk’s rise to the top of the rich list comes as the country’s billionaires saw their fortunes rise by more than $ 1 trillion during the pandemic, thanks in part to a strong stock market fueled by investors’ expectations for an economic recovery in 2021 Companies like Amazon have seen sales and profits rise as consumers shifted their spending habits and changed their behavior to adapt to the corona pandemic.
Sure, the ranking change may not be permanent given the variable nature of high-profile stocks like Amazon and Tesla. And Bezos would probably remain the richest person in the world without his divorce in 2019, which gave his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott about 25% of their Amazon property.
Scott, meanwhile, is the 23rd richest person in the world, with a net worth in excess of $ 56 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Last month, Scott said she made a donation more than $ 4.2 billion of her fortune to charities, including anti-hunger groups and educational institutions.
Amazon’s stock was no weaker either. Since January last year, his shares are up more than 66%.