Elon Musk overtakes Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person

Tesla CEO Elon Musk overtakes Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person. Musk’s net worth soared from $7.2 billion to $127.9 billion, driven by yet another surge in Tesla’s share price.  Bill Gates’ net worth is currently $127.7 billion.

Since the beginning of 2020, Musk has added $100.3 billion to his net worth, the most of anyone on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. Musk was ranked 35th in January.

In June, Tesla surpasses Toyota to become the world’s most valuable car company. Tesla stock eclipsed $1,000 per share valuing the company at $188 billion. Now, Tesla is worth more than GM, Ford, Ferrari, BMW, Nissan, Mazda, Aston Martin, and Fiat Chrysler, which have a combined worth of $181 billion. Today, Tesla’s market value approaches $500 billion.

In September, Elon Musk’s net worth quadrupled from $25 billion to over $100 billion during the 4 months. Musk’s advance up the wealth ranks has been driven largely by Tesla. About three-quarters of his net worth is in Tesla shares, which are valued more than four times as much as his stake in Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX.

Gates’ net worth of $127.7 billion would have been much higher had he not donated to charities over the years. Gates has given more than $27 billion to his foundation since 2006.