For the first time in more than nine months, Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world.
Musk lost his position at the top of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index to Jeff Bezos after stocks fell Tesla Inc. fell 7.2% on Monday. Musk now has a net worth of $197.7 billion; Bezos’ fortune is $200.3 billion.
It is the first time that Bezos, 60, the founder of Amazon.com Inc. has been at the top of Bloomberg’s richest people rankings since 2021.
The wealth gap between the 52-year-old Musk and Bezos, at one point as high as $142 billion, has narrowed as shares of Amazon and Tesla move in opposite directions. While both are among the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks that have powered the U.S. stock markets, Amazon shares have more than doubled since the end of 2022 and are within striking distance of a record high. Tesla is about 50% below its 2021 peak.
Tesla shares fell on Monday, preliminary data showed broadcasts from the Shanghai factory fell to its lowest level in more than a year. Meanwhile, Amazon is getting away with it Best online sales growth since the beginning of the pandemic.
Payment package
Musk’s fortune could take another hit after a Delaware judge struck down his $55 billion pay package at Tesla, where he is chairman. The decision fell on the side of an investor who had challenged Musk’s compensation plan, which was the largest in history.
Options included in the canceled plan are among Musk’s largest assets, along with his shares in Tesla and SpaceX. The Bloomberg index continues to take them into account in its wealth calculations.
The majority of Bezos’ wealth comes from his 9 percent stake in Amazon. He is the online retailer’s largest shareholder, even after unloading 50 million shares last month worth about $8.5 billion.
For Bezos, being at the top of wealth rankings is a familiar position. He overtook first Microsoft Inc. co-founder Bill Gates as the richest person in the world in 2017.
But a massive rally in Tesla shares left Bezos battling Musk for the top spot for much of 2021. At the end of the year he fell far behind and has not been able to regain the No. 1 position to this day.
Bernard Arnault, 74, chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury goods maker, is also among the richest in the world, with a net worth of $197.5 billion.