Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday became the richest person in the world, surpassing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who had held the title since 2017.
The net worth of Musk is more than USD 185 billion, up from USD 27 billion in early 2020, according to a report by CNBC. Thursday’s increase in Tesla’s share price pushed Musk past Jeff Bezos, whose current net worth is about USD 184 billion.
Musk’s wealth surge over the past year marks the fastest rise to the top of the rich list in history, CNBC reported. Musk started 2020 with his worth about USD 27 billion and was barely in the top 50 richest people.
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Tesla’s shares were recently trading at about USD 790, up more than 4 per cent in trading on Thursday. The company’s market value has grown to USD 737.6 billion.
Tesla’s rocketing share price which has increased more than nine-fold over the past year along with his generous pay package has added more than USD 150 billion to his net worth. Meanwhile, Amazon’s share price has remained more subdued due to the potential for increased regulation from Washington.