Elon Musk on Wednesday became the world’s richest person again, just a few months after he lost the position to luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s wealth stood at $192 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks people with more than a billion dollars in fortunes. That is $5 billion more than LVMH chief Arnault’s net worth.
The pair had been neck-and-neck for the title since December when Arnault LVMH’s empire of fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Celine, pushed him ahead of Musk. But the Tesla chief reclaimed the top spot after a surge in shares of his electric car company Tesla in May boosted his wealth by some 24%, Eikon data shows.
Teslas stock has had a remarkable run this year, rising by more than 60%. And that has made Musk one of the wealthiest people in the world, thanks to his massive holdings of the company’s stock. He is also a significant stakeholder in space exploration firm SpaceX and tunneling startup Boring Company, which has seen its share price rise.
Unlike Arnault, Musk’s fortune has come mainly from the stock market, not from his business interests or private equity holdings. The entrepreneur has cofounded six companies and owns most of them, with his largest asset being the shares of Tesla. He is the only individual on the list with a multibillion-dollar stake in more than one public company.
Forbes last month ranked Musk as the world’s fifth-richest person, although that ranking dipped after a steep fall in the electric carmaker’s stock in 2023. The magazine said Tesla had been hurt by “a series of mishaps that followed his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in April 2022, including production delays and disappointing vehicle sales.”
But company shares have regained ground recently, and Musk has become the wealthiest person again. His return to the top of the list indicates investors are becoming more optimistic about the electric car maker’s prospects.
Aside from being the world’s richest person, Musk is also a renowned inventor, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He has founded over a dozen tech and consumer startups, including the rocket maker SpaceX, online retail giant PayPal, and the electric vehicle maker Telsa Motors. He has also backed various science and technology projects and cofounded the Internet Archive. In 2022, he won the National Science Foundation’s inaugural Innovation Award for Social Impact. He was also a member of President Barack Obamas Council on Jobs and Competitiveness member. Despite all that success, Musk is not without his critics. Some have argued that his achievements are more hype than substance, while others have noted that many of his ideas were borrowed from other entrepreneurs. He has also been accused of being unfocused and lacking humility. Nonetheless, he remains a well-known figure in the business world and is considered a significant force for change in the industry.
