Tesla CEO Elon Musk has overtaken Microsoft founder Bill Gates on the list of the richest people in the world. He is now the second richest person in the world. As Tesla’s stock market value rose, its assets grew by $ 7.2 billion to $ 127.9 billion (€ 108 billion).
Musk, 49, has already seen his net worth increase by $ 100.3 billion this year, making it the fastest riser on Bloomberg’s billionaire index, a ranking of the 500 richest people in the world. In January he was still in 35th place. This rapid increase is mainly due to Tesla, which is currently worth around € 500 billion in total. About 75 percent of Musk’s net worth is made up of Tesla shares.
So Tesla’s most recent achievements have given Musk’s power a significant growth spurt. Not only did the brand return to profit last quarter, Tesla will also be included in the important and prestigious S&P index on the American stock exchange next month. In response to that news, Tesla’s stock market value shot up further. At $ 521 per share, Tesla is currently at its all-time high, nearly six times as high as in early 2020.
Bill Gates topped Bloomberg’s billionaires index for years, but was overtaken in 2017 by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Now Musk has passed him too. Gates is worth a fortune of $ 127.7 billion, but that could have been more if as a philanthropist he gave less to charities. Since 2006, he and his wife have invested more than $ 27 billion in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.