Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk now both share the title of the world’s richest person with similar net worth of $194 billion.
The tie was brought about by an increase in the net worth of Elon Musk and a decline in that of Jeff Bezos’. While Jeff Bezos experienced a decline of $182 million in his net worth, Elon Musk, on Monday, registered gains of about $3.58 billion. Tesla shares on Monday recorded a sharp rise of almost 3 percent. The electric vehicle maker also recently recorded progressive results in its second quarter. According to the company’s second-quarter results, its operating margin was 11 percent up year over year. During the first quarter of 2021, the company’s automotive gross margin increased from 26.5 percent to 28.4 percent.
At the start of 2020, Elon Musk had a net worth of $27 billion and did not make the list of the world’s top 50 richest people in the world. Throughout 2020, his net worth increased by $150 billion, largely driven by his ownership of around 20% of Tesla stock. In November last year, Elon Musk passed Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to become the third-richest person in the world; a week later he passed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the second-richest. In January 2021, with a net worth of $185 billion, Elon Musk took the trophy for the world’s richest person, surpassing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who had been the richest man since 2017. Jeff Bezos however reclaimed his title as the world’s richest person the following month, after he overtook Elon Musk.
Jeff Bezos’ wealth, which largely comes from his ownership of Amazon stock, has also surged astronomically in recent years, along with the company’s share price. In August last year, Jeff Bezos’ became the first person to see his wealth climb above $200 billion; the first person to achieve such a wealth milestone. Last month Andy Jassy was named as Jeff’s Bezos’ replacement for the position of CEO. At the time of the announcement, Amazon said it would grant the new CEO 61,000 shares of stock worth $214 million which will vest for ten years. While Bezos is expected to still keep an eye on Amazon, he now has more time to focus on other projects, including his Blue Origin rocket company and The Washington Post, as well as philanthropic ventures, the Bezos Earth Fund, and the Amazon Day 1 Fund.
Amazon and Tesla; founded by Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk respectively, are the kings in their respective fields. Amazon is currently the world’s largest internet company by revenue and market capitalization, while Tesla is the world’s leading Electric Vehicle manufacturer.
The question now is, “who will be the top man standing?”
