Elon Musk beats Mark Zuckerberg to become third richest person in the world

  • Musk has seen a meteoric rise in his wealth, with his net worth growing by $87.8 billion this year as Tesla shares surged almost 500%.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk dances onstage during a delivery event for Tesla China-made Model 3 cars in China. (File photo) (REUTERS)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk dances onstage during a delivery event for Tesla China-made Model 3 cars in China. (File photo)

Elon Musk is now the third-richest person in the world.

Musk passed Facebook Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg Monday as shares of Tesla Inc. continued their unrelenting rally after undergoing a forward stock split. Musk is now worth $115.4 billion compared with $110.8 billion for Zuckerberg, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Also check these Vehicles

Find more Cars
Tesla Model S (HT Auto photo)
UPCOMING
BatteryCapacity Icon75 kWh Range Icon396 km
₹70 Lakhs - 1 Cr
View Details
Tesla Model 3 (HT Auto photo)
UPCOMING
BatteryCapacity Icon82kWh Range Icon 555 km
₹ 70 - 90 Lakhs
View Details
Lexus Es (HT Auto photo)
Engine Icon2487.0 cc FuelType IconMultiple
₹ 56.55 - 62.19 Lakhs
Compare
View Offers
Bmw I4 (HT Auto photo)
BatteryCapacity Icon83.9 kWh Range Icon493 Km
₹ 69.90 Lakh
Compare
Volkswagen Id.7 (HT Auto photo)
UPCOMING
BatteryCapacity Icon77 kWh Range Icon621 Km
₹ 70 Lakhs
View Details
Hyundai Creta (HT Auto photo)
Engine Icon1497 cc FuelType IconMultiple
₹ 11 - 20.15 Lakhs
Compare
View Offers

Also Read : Tesla wants video games engineer in sign of intent on in-car entertainment

Also Monday, Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife MacKenzie Scott became the world’s richest woman, passing L’Oreal SA heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers. Scott, 50, who received a 4% stake in Amazon.com Inc. as part of her divorce from founder Bezos, is now worth $66.4 billion.

Musk, 49, has seen a meteoric rise in his wealth, with his net worth growing by $87.8 billion this year as Tesla shares surged almost 500%. Also helpful: an audacious pay package -- the largest corporate pay deal ever struck between a chief executive officer and a board of directors -- that could yield him more than $50 billion if all goals are met.

Tesla, a favorite among amateur investors on online trading firm Robinhood Financial, has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the boom in retail investing during pandemic lockdowns. At one point last month, almost 40,000 Robinhood accounts added Tesla shares during a single four-hour span. And the trend isn’t limited to the US: South Korean retail investors have piled into Tesla this year and hold about a 1% stake in the American auto maker.

Tesla’s $464 billion market value now exceeds that of retail behemoth Walmart Inc, the largest company in the US by revenue.

Last week, Musk joined Zuckerberg, Bezos and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates in the rarefied centibillionaire club as tech stocks rose.

The heady pace of wealth accumulation in recent months is in stark contrast to the state of the global economy. Growth has slumped sharply since the pandemic began with companies laying off millions of workers and consumer demand cratering. The brunt of economic pain has been borne by young and lower-wage workers, whose jobs are typically more vulnerable to Covid-related layoffs.

The rising income inequality has provoked sharp responses from many progressive politicians and critics on the left. US Senator Bernie Sanders this month introduced legislation to tax “extreme wealth gains" during the pandemic.

Musk still has a long way to become the world’s richest person. Bezos is worth more than $200 billion.

First Published Date: 01 Sep 2020, 08:22 AM IST
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS

Please provide your details to get Personalized Offers on

Choose city
+91 | Choose city
Choose city
Choose city

Want to get the best price for your existing car?

Powered by: Spinny Logo
By clicking "View Offers" you Agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy

Dear Name

Please verify your mobile number.

+91 | Choose city
Couldn't verify the OTP.
It's either expired or it's incorrect.