Elon Musk Overtakes Bill Gates to Become the World's
Tesla and SpaceX Co-founder Elon Musk has surpassed Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the World's second-richest person following a sudden rise in his.
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Updated November 2026. This was first published on 22 December 2020. The idea is the same. Any number below is what the original piece said then. It is not a new count.
Key takeaways
- Tesla and SpaceX Co-founder Elon Musk has surpassed Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the World’s second-richest person following a sudden rise in his fortunes.
- The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the wealth of the World’s 500 wealthiest people, has stated that Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, is now the World’s second-richest person overtaking Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates.
- The 49-year-old tech entrepreneur, also the co-founder of space exploration firm SpaceX, saw an increase in his net worth by $7.2 billion to $128 billion.
A summary of Elon Musk’s net worth and by how much he went ahead compared to Bill Gates #
Tesla and SpaceX Co-founder Elon Musk has surpassed Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the World’s second-richest person following a sudden rise in his fortunes.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the wealth of the World’s 500 wealthiest people, has stated that Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, is now the World’s second-richest person overtaking Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates.
The 49-year-old tech entrepreneur, also the co-founder of space exploration firm SpaceX, saw an increase in his net worth by $7.2 billion to $128 billion. This happened when Tesla shares surged days after the news that the electric car company will be added to the S&P 500 index in December. [2] The net worth of Musk increased by $100.3 billion in 2020, marking the largest rise among those on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. The Tesla co-founder ranked 35th in January. Recently, he pushed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg down into the fourth position to claim the third spot.
At present, Jeff Bezos, CEO and Founder of Amazon is the only person ahead of Musk, who took the top position from Gates in 2017 and has remained there since. The recent move forced Gates down into the third spot, marking only the second time in the index’s eight-year history when he hasn’t been ranked in the upper two positions. But, with a net worth of $127.1 billion, Bill Gates’s fortune would be considerably higher if it weren’t for his philanthropic endeavors. Since 2016, he has donated over $27 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In 2020, those on the Bloomberg index have collectively added about 23%, or $1.3 trillion to their net worth, even as millions of workers across the globe faced financial hardships after being laid off by their employees owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Musk, who regularly counts controversy, has had an eventful past in the last few weeks. He tweeted that he most likely had a moderate case of Covid-19 and has had symptoms of a ‘minor cold.’ The news came the day before SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station.
Gates and Bezos #
Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft, was the World’s richest person for years before Jeff Bezos knocked him off the top spot in 2017. Gates’s fortune is worth $127.7 Billion. But it would be higher had he not donated large sums to charity over the decades. Bloomberg estimates the net worth of Jeff Bezos as $186 Billion. His fortune has also increased this year as the demand for Amazon’s services has climbed in the pandemic.
The reasons for such a sudden rise #
The net worth of Elon Musk has jumped by $7.2 billion to $128 billion after a surge in the shares of his car firm Tesla. After the news, the electric automaker Tesla’s shares will be added to the S&P 500, one of the US’s key share indexes. That triggered a fresh wave of buying the electric carmaker’s shares. Further, this sent the company’s market value above $500 Billion while boosting Elon Musk’s holding in the business.
About three-quarters of his net worth is comprised of Tesla shares that are valued for over four times as much as his take in SpaceX or Space Exploration Technologies, Corp. With this move, Musk unseats an occasional verbal sparring partner in Gates, who he had earlier ridiculed on Twitter for among others who have no clue about the electric trucks. Both Musk and Gates have also traded bards on the ongoing COVID-19. Gates charitable foundation is one of the well-known bodies backing vaccine research. Gates has expressed concern over Tesla billionaire, Musk’s suspicion of the pandemic data and holding specific conspiracy theories.
Tesla is already the most valuable car firm in the World, despite producing a fraction of the vehicles of rivals such as General Motors, Toyota, and VW. During his speech in Germany, Musk said it could make sense for Tesla’s expansion in Europe by entering the mass-market segment with a small car. He stated further that the cars tend to be bigger for personal taste reasons in the US, while in Europe, they tend to be smaller.
After years of losses, the California-based firm has seen five consecutive quarters of profit as its cars’ sales performed well amid the pandemic. Tesla will be the biggest new entrant in the S&P 500, with a market value of over $500 Billion. It indicates that the investment funds tacking the index will automatically hold its stock and benefit from the gains in its share price news, which has thrilled the investors.
A summary of the other 4th, 5th, and 6th richest people with their net worth #
The French Consumer Business Giant Bernard Arnault ranks 4th in the list of the World’s 500 Richest People with a net worth of $110 billion. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is currently in 5th position with a net worth of $105 billion. And Warren Buffet holds the 6th position in the list with a net worth of $85.2 billion.
Despite the pandemic that led to a widespread layoff that disproportionately affected the World’s working class and poor, this year has been lucrative for the World’s richest people. The members of the Bloomberg index have collectively gained around 23% or $1.3 trillion since the beginning of 2020. Those in the electric vehicle industry have been particular beneficiaries, with the combined fortune of Zeng Yuqun and Huang Shilin, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., the biggest electric-vehicle battery maker in China, soaring by $18.8 billion this year.
Questions and answers #
What is the main point? #
Tesla and SpaceX Co-founder Elon Musk has surpassed Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the World’s second-richest person following a sudden rise in his fortunes.
What else did the original piece say? #
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the wealth of the World’s 500 wealthiest people, has stated that Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, is now the World’s second-richest person overtaking Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates.