Elon Musk is now the 5th wealthiest person in the world – behind Jeff Bezos, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg
The Tesla and SpaceX founder’s wealth has almost tripled to US$74 billion since March, according to Forbes’ rich list – but will he be digging deep to support bestie Kanye’s West beleaguered presidential bid?
Elon Musk’s net worth recently skyrocketed past the US$74 billion mark, making him the fifth richest person in the world, according to Forbes.
Most of Musk’s wealth is tied to shares in his companies, Tesla and SpaceX. Tesla's value has increased by US$200 billion since March, frequently hitting record highs after delivering stronger-than-expected vehicle delivery numbers.
A smaller fraction of his wealth – about US$100 million – is tied up in real estate. But that’s likely to change. In May, Musk announced that he planned to sell all of his worldly possessions and listed nearly US$40 million of property.
Like many carmakers, Tesla has had a tumultuous few months as Americans increasingly stayed inside during shelter-in-place guidelines.
Since March, the company’s only US car factory faced shutdowns due to the coronavirus. Musk said that stopping production at the factory, based in Fremont, California, posed a “serious risk” to business, and went on to sue the local county over its shelter-in-place orders and reopen in spite of them.
Despite these hurdles, Tesla went on to deliver 90,650 vehicles to customers in the year’s second quarter, topping Wall Street predictions by 20,000 vehicles.
