Musk is now US$100 bn richer than Jeff Bezos

US: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is still the world’s richest man.

With a net worth of US$ 282 billion, he is nearly US$ 100 billion wealthier than second placer Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, who has a net worth of US$ 183.6 billion, as per the Forbes richest list.

Musk is among the biggest gainers during the COVID-19 pandemic. He started 2020 with a net worth of only US$ 26.6 billion. Nearly a year later, his fortune reached unfathomable heights.

For 2020, he gained more than US$110 billion, setting the record for the biggest one-year gain of any billionaire Forbes has ever tracked. For the year 2021, Musk earned over US$ 90 billion.

It was at the beginning of 2021 when he dethroned Bezos, who had been the world’s richest since 2017. At that time, the Tesla CEO had an estimated net worth of about US$ 188.5 billion — US$ 1.5 billion more than Bezos.

Musk’s wealth peaked in early November when it reached US$ 340.4 billion as Tesla shares hit a record high. He was the first person with more than US$ 300 billion to his name.

Today, Musk is about US$ 115 billion richer than the third richest man in the world, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who has a net worth of US$ 167.4 billion.

Musk is also worth significantly more than the fortunes of former Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer combined. Gates has a net worth of US$ 134.2 billion, while Balmer’s net worth stands at US$ 97 billion.

With his net worth, Musk can buy all the 32 National Football League teams currently worth over US$ 112 billion, according to CNN.

In April 2012, Musk signed the Giving Pledge and committed to donate the majority of his wealth to address some of society’s most pressing problems. Musk has been selling his houses since 2020 after announcing on Twitter that he would sell the majority of his properties. Musk had earlier revealed that he moved to a US$ 50,000 home in Boca Chica, Texas, near the SpaceX headquarters.

– INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES