Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is still the world’s richest man.
With a net worth of $282 billion, he is nearly $100 billion wealthier than second placer Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, who has a net worth of $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 $26.6 billion. Nearly a year later, his fortune reached unfathomable heights.
For 2020, he gained more than $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 $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 $188.5 billion — $1.5 billion more than Bezos.
Musk’s wealth peaked in early November when it reached $340.4 billion as Tesla shares hit a record high. He was the first person with more than $300 billion to his name.
Today, Musk is about $115 billion richer than the third richest man in the world, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who has a net worth of $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 $134.2 billion, while Balmer’s net worth stands at $97 billion.
With his net worth, Musk can buy all the 32 National Football League teams currently worth over $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 $50,000 home in Boca Chica, Texas, near the SpaceX headquarters.
My primary home is literally a ~$50k house in Boca Chica / Starbase that I rent from SpaceX. It’s kinda awesome though.
Only house I own is the events house in the Bay Area. If I sold it, the house would see less use, unless bought by a big family, which might happen some day.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2021