Elon Musk Regains World’s Richest Status

Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s richest person after a brief loss to France’s Bernard Arnault.

Musk’s fortune has grown thanks to a nearly 70% increase in Tesla’s stock price this year. It’s more than 100% higher from its intraday low on January 6 as investors re-invest in riskier growth stocks amid signs of economic strength and a slower pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate increases. After lowering prices on several models, the company has seen increased demand for its electric vehicles.

Tesla shares rose 5.5% to $207.63 at 4pm in New York, boosting Musk’s net worth to $187.1bn (R3.45-trillion) , according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That exceeds the $185.3bn (R3.42-trillion) personal fortune of Arnault, the 73-year-old French tycoon behind luxury-goods powerhouse LVMH.

Musk, 51, entered 2023 with a net worth of $137bn (R2.53-trillion) , becoming the first person ever to lose $200bn (R3.7-trillion) from their fortune and raising the prospect that he might struggle to reclaim his title as the world’s richest individual. He was displaced atop Bloomberg’s wealth index for more than two months after a steep slide in Tesla, where he’s CEO.

See Also; Elon Musk Voted Out Of Twitter In His Own Poll

Donations Musk made late last year didn’t make much of a dent in his net worth. He gave 11.6-million Tesla shares to unnamed charitable causes between August and December, according to a disclosure in February. The stock was worth about $1.9bn (R35bn) , based on closing prices on the days it was donated.

Tesla investors had been concerned that he was devoting too much of his attention to Twitter, which he acquired in October, at the same time that his electric carmaker was facing heightened competition across the industry. Musk said in December he plans to resign from his post at the social-media platform once he finds someone “foolish” enough to take the job.

He said this month that he may need until the end of the year to stabilise Twitter’s finances before handing off to a new CEO.

Tom Narayan, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said in a February report that Tesla’s price cuts had spurred demand for vehicles, and that the company is the “poster child” of electric cars.

“We believe there is strong demand for Tesla product even in the face of more EV competition,” Narayan wrote.

Tesla is hosting its 2023 investor day on Wednesday, with the company’s leaders set to discuss long-term expansion plans.

Tesla’s gains have far outpaced the rally in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index, which is up about 10% in 2023. This year has included occasional bursts of speculative trading manias among retail traders — and Tesla is a favourite among that group.