Billionaire Elon Musk has regained his title as the world’s richest person with a net worth of $187 billion, surpassing France’s Bernard Arnault, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk’s surge in net worth is attributed to the increase in Tesla’s share prices, which soared by 92% on a year-to-date basis.
While Musk’s net worth fell by over $200 billion between November and December last year, it has bounced back, with Tesla’s shares closing 5.46% higher at $207.63 in Monday’s trade. Tesla’s stock gains have also outpaced the rally in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, which has gone up about 11% in 2023.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index updates the wealth figures of the world’s richest people every trading day in New York.
Musk is the chief executive of Tesla, a company known for its various business ventures and technological advancements, and SpaceX, a rocket manufacturing company. He also has a stake in the social networking company Twitter. In October 2022, Musk closed a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter Inc, and he has since cut over 3,700 jobs or half of the company’s workforce. Last week, Twitter announced its eighth round of layoffs, resulting in more than 50 people being fired under Musk’s leadership.
Musk has been known for his active presence on Twitter, and last week, he unblocked everyone on the microblogging platform, except for scammers. He recommended that people do the same thing, stating that “negative feedback is a good thing.”
Musk’s recent rise in net worth has caused concern about the growing wealth gap between the rich and the poor, as well as access to healthcare and other essential services in rural areas where hospitals are closing down their maternity units.
