Elon Musk, 49, has benefited in more ways than one from Tesla’s stratospheric rise
Elon Musk, the outspoken entrepreneur behind Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, began the new year with a distinctively cheeky title: the richest person on the planet.
A 2.8% increase in the share price of the electric car maker on Wednesday raised Musk to $ 3 billion from Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, who currently holds the top spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the 500 richest people in the world.
The South African-born engineer’s net worth was $ 181.1 billion on Wednesday, just shy of Bezos, who has held the top position since October 2017. As CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, Musk is also a competitor for Bezos. , owner of Blue Origin LLC, in the private space race.
The milestone reaches Musk an extraordinary twelve months. Its net worth has risen by more than $ 150 billion over the past year as possibly the fastest success of wealth creation in history. The rise in the shares was an unprecedented increase in Tesla’s share price, which rose 743% last year due to steady gains, inclusion in the S&P 500 index and enthusiasm from Wall Street and retail investors.
Wednesday’s rise in Tesla’s share price blows a valuation light years ahead of other automakers on numerous benchmarks. Last year, Tesla produced just over half a million cars, a fraction of Ford Motor Co.’s production. and General Motors Co. The company is ready for further gains in the short term, as the Democrats are on the verge of seizing both of Georgia’s Senate opportunities. and the control of Congress to the party advocating for the faster use of electric vehicles.
Stock options
Musk, 49, has benefited from Tesla’s stratospheric rise in more ways than one. In addition to its 20% stake in the automaker, it is sitting on about $ 40 billion in unrealized paper profits on established stock options. These securities come from two grants he received in 2012 and 2018, the latter of which was the largest wage agreement ever concluded between a CEO and a corporate board.
Despite his astronomical gain, Musk said he has little interest in material things and that he has few assets beyond his interest in Tesla and SpaceX. He said in an interview with Axel Springer last month that the main purpose of his wealth is to accelerate humanity’s evolution into a spatial population.
“I want to be able to contribute as much as possible to the city on Mars,” Musk said. “It just means a lot of capital.”
The 500 richest people in the world added a record $ 1.8 billion to their combined net worth last year, equivalent to a 31% increase. The profits were disproportionate, with five individuals owning more than $ 100 billion and another 20 worth at least $ 50 billion.
Only six days into the new year, the rankings have already been raised by extraordinary rallies. China’s Zhong Shanshan overcame Warren Buffett to claim the sixth slot after shares of his bottled water company rose, adding $ 15.2 billion to his fortune.
– With the help of Anders Melin and Tom Maloney.
(Except for the headline, this story was not processed by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)