Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk has surpassed the co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, to become the world’s second richest person behind Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos.
According to Bloomberg, the 49-year-old entrepreneur’s net worth soared $7.2 billion to $127.9 billion, driven by yet another surge in Tesla’s share price.
Elon Musk has added $100.3 billion to his net worth this year, the most of anyone on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. In January he ranked 35th.
The tech billionaires’ advance up the wealth ranks has been driven largely by Tesla, whose market value is approaching $500 billion.
About three-quarters of his net worth is comprised of Tesla shares, which are valued more than four times as much as his stake in Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX.
Musk’s milestone marks only the second time in the index’s eight-year history that Microsoft Corp. co-founder Gates has ranked lower than number two.
Bill Gates held the top spot for years before being bumped by Jeff Bezos in 2017. Gates’s net worth of $127.7 billion would be much higher had he not donated so prodigiously to charity over the years. He has given more than $27 billion to his namesake foundation since 2006.
Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos remains at the top of the Bloomberg rich list, with an estimated net worth of $182bn (£136bn).
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