It’s official. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is the world’s richest person.
Musk took the crown from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos after Tesla shares rose nearly 8% on January 7. Elon Musk is now worth $194.8 billion U.S., $9.5 billion U.S. more than Bezos, whose Blue Origin is a rival to Musk’s SpaceX in the private space sector.
Over the past year, Musk has added more than $165 billion to his fortune in the fastest bout of wealth creation in history. Fueling his rise has been an unprecedented rally in Tesla’s share price, which surged 743% in 2020 on the back of consistent profits, inclusion in the S&P 500 Index, and enthusiasm from retail investors.
Tesla shares have gained more than 23,900% since its 2010 initial public offering (IPO), including a 5-for-1 stock split in August 2020.
Despite his status as the world’s richest person, Musk has complained on several occasions of being "cash poor." The vast majority of his wealth is tied up in equity of his companies, including Tesla and closely held SpaceX.
Musk has also claimed to have little interest in wealth. He tweeted last year that he intended to sell all his physical possessions. When news broke that Musk had passed Bezos to become the world’s richest person, Musk Tweeted: “How strange. Well, back to work.”
