No, Elon Musk Is Not The Richest Person In The World—Yet

Published 4 years ago
Billionaire Elon Musk Receives Axel Springer Award

Despite seeing his net worth skyrocket in recent months—and a report from Bloomberg on Wednesday that he’s now the world’s richest person—Elon Musk remains the second-richest person in the world, according to Forbes’ estimates.

Shares of Musk’s electric-vehicle maker Tesla TSLA +6.9% rose by 7% as of 2:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, pushing Musk’s net worth up by $9.8 billion, to $175.2 billion. That makes him $22 billion richer than the planet’s third-wealthiest person, French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault, but still $11 billion behind the world’s number one, Amazon AMZN +1.8% CEO Jeff BezosForbes estimates that Bezos has a net worth of $186.8 billion.

Musk’s net worth has grown at an astronomical clip over the past year. He has added nearly $150 billion to his fortune since March 2020, when he was worth $24.6 billion. Much of that increase comes from Tesla’s skyrocketing share price, which rose more than 720% in 2020. It has gained another 10% so far over the first week of 2021. 

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As Tesla’s stock soared ahead of its inclusion in the S&P 500 Index on December 21, Musk surpassed Facebook FB +1.9% CEO Mark Zuckerberg (who is worth $98.2 billion today) to become the world’s fourth-richest person in early November, then leapfrogged Microsoft MSFT +3% cofounder Bill Gates (worth $121.9 billion today) for the number three spot.

Musk owns around 21% of Tesla’s shares, plus a stake in private rocket company SpaceX. Tesla stock still sits at record highs, now trading for over $800 per share. The company’s $765 billion market cap makes it by far the most valuable car company in the world.

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-By Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes Staff

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African Billionaires in 2025

Click on a billionaire to view their profile

RANK: 1
Aliko Dangote
Aliko Dangote
NET WORTH: $23.9 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Nigeria
RANK: 2
Johann Rupert & family
Johann Rupert & family
NET WORTH: $14 BTREND:
COUNTRY: South Africa
RANK: 3
Nicky Oppenheimer & family
Nicky Oppenheimer & family
NET WORTH: $10.4 BTREND:
COUNTRY: South Africa
RANK: 4
Nassef Sawiris
Nassef Sawiris
NET WORTH: $9.6 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Egypt
RANK: 5
Mike Adenuga
Mike Adenuga
NET WORTH: $6.8 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Nigeria
RANK: 6
Abdulsamad Rabiu
Abdulsamad Rabiu
NET WORTH: $5.1 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Nigeria
RANK: 7
Naguib Sawiris
Naguib Sawiris
NET WORTH: $5 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Egypt
RANK: 8
Koos Bekker
Koos Bekker
NET WORTH: $3.4 BTREND:
COUNTRY: South Africa
RANK: 8
Mohamed Mansour
Mohamed Mansour
NET WORTH: $3.4 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Egypt
RANK: 10
Patrice Motsepe
Patrice Motsepe
NET WORTH: $3 BTREND:
COUNTRY: South Africa
RANK: 10
Issad Rebrab & family
Issad Rebrab & family
NET WORTH: $3 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Algeria
RANK: 12
Mohammed Dewji
Mohammed Dewji
NET WORTH: $2.2 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Tanzania
RANK: 12
Michiel Le Roux
Michiel Le Roux
NET WORTH: $2.2 BTREND:
COUNTRY: South Africa
RANK: 14
Othman Benjelloun & family
Othman Benjelloun & family
NET WORTH: $1.6 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Morocco
RANK: 14
Anas Sefrioui & family
Anas Sefrioui & family
NET WORTH: $1.6 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Morocco
RANK: 16
Aziz Akhannouch & family
Aziz Akhannouch & family
NET WORTH: $1.5 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Morocco
RANK: 16
Femi Otedola
Femi Otedola
NET WORTH: $1.5 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Nigeria
RANK: 16
Christoffel Wiese
Christoffel Wiese
NET WORTH: $1.5 BTREND:
COUNTRY: South Africa
RANK: 20
Youssef Mansour
Youssef Mansour
NET WORTH: $1.4 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Egypt
RANK: 21
Yasseen Mansour
Yasseen Mansour
NET WORTH: $1.2 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Egypt
RANK: 21
Strive Masiyiwa
Strive Masiyiwa
NET WORTH: $1.2 BTREND:
COUNTRY: Zimbabwe