Elon Musk: World’s richest person again after Tesla stock rally

The Twitter boss made headlines in January for breaking the Guinness World Record for biggest loss ever, with an estimated $182 billion since November 2021.

For a little over a month, the baton passed to $190 billion luxury king Bernard Arnault, founder of luxury goods giant LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy).

But after Tesla stock continued its stunning rally into this week, Bloomberg has confirmed that Musk is once again at the top of its real-time billionaire index.

What is Musk’s net worth now?

As markets closed on Monday, Musk’s net worth was around $187.1 billion, surpassing Arnault’s $185.3 billion.

According to reports from BarronsThe SpaceX co-founder owns approximately 424 million shares of Tesla stock, not including his management stock options.

Musk’s fortune has therefore risen in line with the rise in the electric vehicle maker’s stock price, which by the close on Feb. 27 had skyrocketed nearly 100% from its early January low.

Tesla shares rallied more than 50% in January wealth outlined a number of reasons for investors’ renewed confidence in the company. These ranged from concerns about declining profitability and governance of the company that reinforced longer-term growth promises outlined back in 2020.

Likewise, investor confidence has been boosted by a surprisingly resilient US economy, with forecasters now pushing back their estimates of when a recession might hit. Not everyone is so confident there will be a “softer” landing, however, as staunch Wall Street bear Mike Wilson predicts stocks are in the “death zone.”

Why has Tesla stock fallen so much?

Musk himself is likely one of the reasons why many investors have backed away from the brand, with stakeholders claiming he was sidetracked by his October 2022 purchase of Twitter.

Musk constantly sold Tesla stock to fund his new project, saying he “wouldn’t wish the pain on anyone” of balancing Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter.

While none of its headline companies are without challenges, Tesla faces a battle for the Chinese market.

Musk has admitted that a Chinese company is likely to be the biggest competitor, saying: “We have a lot of respect for automakers in China. In our experience, they are the most competitive in the world, and the Chinese market is the most competitive. They work the hardest and the smartest, and we have a lot of respect for the Chinese companies we compete with.”

Sales of Tesla automobiles also began to slow as the brand cut prices to revive demand for the product.

The result was anger among owners because they had recently paid the previous higher price or because they are now getting less for their used Tesla.

Learn how to navigate and build trust in your organization with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter exploring what leaders need to succeed. Login here.