Elon Musk reclaims title of world’s richest person

This year’s rally in the stock price of Tesla has buoyed the billionaire’s net worth

Tesla and Space X chief executive Elon Musk has once again become the world’s wealthiest individual after Tesla’s stock price nearly doubled since the start of 2023, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Musk is now back on top of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index after slipping to the second spot in late December. As of February 27, the billionaire’s wealth reportedly amounted to $187.1 billion at the close of markets, outstripping the fortune of LVMH’s Bernard Arnault by $1.8 billion.

The surge in Musk’s net worth is attributed to the resurgent stock price of his electric car maker Tesla, which has nearly doubled from its intraday low recorded on January 6.

The agency noted that investors have returned to bets on riskier stocks due to the latest signs of economic recovery and amid a slowing pace of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Moreover, the carmaker has benefited from increased demand for electric vehicles after cutting the prices of several Tesla models.

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Last April, Musk led the Forbes ranking of the world’s wealthiest people for the first time, with a fortune of $219 billion. Back then, the Tesla chief replaced Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the top spot, while Arnault was ranked third.

At its peak in late November, Musk's fortune was hovering around $340 billion, but declined to $137 billion by late December. He became the first person in the world to lose more than $200 billion.

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