Elon Musk Is the Richest Person in the World Again

Businessman and investor Elon Musk reclaimed his spot at the top of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index this week. The title of Richest Person in the World had fallen to French businessman Bernard Arnault in late December of 2022 after Musk lost nearly an estimated $200 billion following a decline in the value of Tesla’s stock. His reclamation of the title comes following an increase in the same stock’s value.

Musk’s History With Tesla

Elon Musk became the Chairman of the Board of Tesla in 2004. He had assisted with financing the fledgling company — founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003 — during its first significant round of funding. After Eberhard left the company in 2007 during the Global Financial Crisis, Musk became the new CEO of Tesla.

Though Musk had already obtained great personal wealth before joining Tesla, it was Tesla that served as his biggest cash cow in the years to come. His net worth would steadily increase over the following twelve years before dramatically increasing from $24.6 billion at the start of 2020 to $151 billion by January 2021. By 2022, he had become the second person ever to achieve a personal fortune greater than $200 billion, sitting at $320 billion by the end of 2021. This success would not last long, however.

Musk’s Record Loss in 2022

Musk experienced what the Guinness World Records described as “the largest loss of personal fortune in history” after Tesla’s stock value fell in late 2022. He lost nearly $200 billion, putting him at a net worth of $138 billion as of January 2023. The billionaire’s wealth didn’t stay depleted for long, though; as of February 27, Elon Musk is once again the richest person in the world.

The rapid rebound comes after Elon Musk was awarded a Guinness record for “largest loss of personal fortune in history.”https://t.co/bhhqtuQ2Lb

— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) February 28, 2023

According to the Independent, by January 6 of 2023, “Tesla’s stock [is] up 100 per cent.” They elaborated that this increase is “driven by increased investor demand, customer interest in recently discounted Tesla models, and a better economic forecast.”

Musk’s net worth now sits at $187 billion, as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His spot at the top of the Index is $2 billion ahead that of the former first-place holder, Bernard Arnault.

As Twitter’s CEO

Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022. By April of that year, Musk had already become the company’s largest shareholder, holding a 9.2% stake by March 14, 2022. He tweeted that he had “made an offer” for Twitter on April 14, 2022.

I made an offer https://t.co/VvreuPMeLu

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022

Musk has been an avid user of Twitter since 2010, and as of February 28, 2023, he has over 130.1 million followers on the platform. In a TED interview in 2022, Musk stated that he made the offer for Twitter due to his desire for there to be “an inclusive arena for free speech.” He described Twitter as a “de-facto town square” for people to speak their minds freely, without fear of being censored.

Though his motives were presented positively, many were unhappy about Musk’s changes to Twitter following his acquisition of the platform. He fired and replaced top Twitter executives (including the CEO), issued a monthly subscription fee for the site’s iconic blue checkmark, reinstated accounts of previously banned users, and more.

The purchase of Twitter played a role in Musk’s major financial losses in 2022. The decision, which was officially finalized on October 27, 2022, resulted in Musk losing $8 billion overnight. CNN additionally described his “constant tweeting and increasingly erratic behavior…after taking over as CEO at Twitter” as a factor in the depletion of Tesla’s stock value.

The rapid turn-around of Musk’s circumstances marks the start of a hopeful year for both himself and Tesla, though the state of Twitter continues to be unpredictable.