Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has been dethroned as the world’s richest man for the first time in nine months. Elon Musk has now slipped to the second position on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, losing the top spot to Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos.
Elon Musk lost a significant amount of his net worth on Monday when Tesla shares tumbled around 7.2 per cent, making Jeff Bezos the wealthiest person in the world. Musk now has a net worth of $197.7 billion; Jeff Bezos’ fortune is $200.3 billion.
This is the first time since 2021 that Bezos has topped the list of the richest persons in the world. While Tesla shares continue to crumble, Amazon shares have been climbing the ladder, shrinking the wealth gap between Elon Musk and Bezos over the last few months.
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At one point, the difference in net worth between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos was as wide as $142 billion. Both companies are a part of the Magnificent Seven stocks in the US, but Amazon stock has doubled since 2022 while Tesla shares have tumbled nearly 50 percent since its 2021 peak.
Tesla shares fell on Monday after preliminary data showed shipments from its factory in Shanghai slumped to the lowest in more than a year. Amazon, meanwhile, is coming off its best online sales growth since early in the pandemic.
Musk’s net worth may take further hit
Elon Musk’s net worth is expected to take another significant hit, and not just because of the major tumble of Tesla shares. Musk’s wealth can further shrink after a Delaware judge struck down his $55 billion pay package at Tesla. The decision took the side of an investor who’d challenged Musk’s compensation plan, which had been the largest in history.
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Options that were included in the voided plan are one of Musk’s largest assets, alongside his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Bezos’s fortune comes from his 9% stake in Amazon. He’s the online retailer’s largest shareholder, even after unloading 50 million shares worth about $8.5 billion last month.
Bezos had first become the richest person in the world in 2017, when he surpassed the net worth of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. He again jumped to the top spot in 2021 when Amazon shares flew while Tesla shares started showing a gradual decline.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
