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Tesla chief executive Elon Musk surpassed Amazon.com founder Jeffrey Bezos on Thursday as the richest person in the world. A rise in the price of Tesla’s stock has lifted the value of its wealth on paper to more than $ 188 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Tesla shares rose more than 7% on Thursday, helping to push Musk’s net worth to $ 1.5 billion above Bezos’ fortune, according to Bloomberg, citing data tracked by his Wealth Index. Shares of the electric carmaker have seen a spectacular run over the past year, rising nearly 800% from around $ 92 a year ago to over $ 811 in Thursday’s trading.
Responding on Twitter to an account that pointed out that he was now the richest person in the world, Musk replied, “How strange.” He later added: “Well, back to work…”
Tesla’s stock was added to the S&P 500 last month. The company’s value of $ 768 billion is greater 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, in part thanks to a strong stock market fueled by investor expectations for an economic recovery in 2021. Companies such as Amazon have seen their sales and profits increase as consumers shifted their spending habits and changed their behaviors to accommodate Coronavirus pandemic.
Granted, the change in ranking might not last given the variable nature of top 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 holdings in the Amazon.
Scott, meanwhile, is the 23rd richest person in the world, with a net worth of more than $ 56 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Last month Scott said she donated over $ 4.2 billion of his fortune to charities, including anti-hunger groups and educational institutions.
Amazon’s stock hasn’t been lazy either. Since last January, its shares have gained more than 66%.
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