Tesla CEO Elon Musk has surpassed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos as the World’s Richest Person after the automaker’s stock surged during early trading hours on Thursday morning.
Musk’s net worth now sits at over $185 billion, which pushes the South African-born entrepreneur and serial tech developer past Bezos, the man responsible for starting the world’s largest e-commerce company.
Musk’s net worth more than tripled in 2020 thanks to Tesla stock’s over 700% boost during the year, which was filled with profitable quarters, new vehicle deliveries, and outperforming Wall Street estimates in terms of vehicle deliveries and production rates. The CEO also unlocked several tranches of his contract last year, which added to his net worth.
Tesla has established itself as the main player in the electric vehicle sector, leading some of the world’s largest, oldest, and most-established car companies in terms of EV development and battery production and efficiency.
Musk, who does not accept a salary from his employer, is the majority shareholder in Tesla with a 20.9% ownership value. Musk is required to accept the California state minimum required salary because of the law, but he maintains that he doesn’t touch it. “It just ends up accumulating in a Tesla bank account somewhere,” he said.
“Shares of Tesla stock are trading at $789.03 at the time of writing, up 4.35% or $32.92.
Because of Musk’s boost on the list, he now sits in front of Bezos, Bernard Arnault & family, and Bill Gates.