According to CNBC on March 5th (edited by Junzhi Huang), Elon Musk has once again lost the title of "world's richest person" after over nine months.
As of the Monday close of the U.S. stock market, Tesla's stock plummeted by 7.2%. Consequently, Musk has relinquished the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Data indicates that Musk's current net worth stands at $197.7 billion, while Bezos' fortune amounts to $200.3 billion.
Since 2021, Jeff Bezos, aged 60, has reclaimed the title of "world's richest person" for the first time.
It's been reported that the wealth gap between Musk and Bezos had once reached as high as $142 billion. However, with the stock prices of Amazon and Tesla moving in opposite directions, this gap has been narrowing.
While both companies are part of the "Big Tech Seven," Amazon's stock price has more than doubled since the end of 2022, nearing its all-time high.
On the other hand, Tesla's stock price has dropped by about 50% from its peak in 2021, marking the worst performance among the Big Seven.
Tesla's stock took a nosedive on Monday, following a decline in the company's February sales in China and facing increasingly fierce competition in the country. Data from the China Passenger Car Association revealed that Tesla sold 60,365 vehicles in China in February, a 19% decrease compared to the same period last year, marking the lowest level since December 2022.
Meanwhile, Amazon is experiencing its best online sales growth since the early days of the pandemic.
Taking a hit
It's worth noting that Musk's fortune could take another hit.
Earlier, a judge in Delaware ruled Tesla's board of directors' grant of a $55 billion mega-compensation package to Musk invalid.
Currently, Musk's primary assets come from the options included in this compensation plan and his holdings in Tesla and SpaceX.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index still includes these options when calculating Musk's wealth.
Meanwhile, the bulk of Bezos' fortune comes from his 9% stake in Amazon. He is the largest shareholder of this online retailer, although he sold about $8.5 billion worth of 50 million Amazon shares last month.
Moreover, topping the wealth rankings is familiar territory for Bezos. In 2017, he surpassed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for the first time, becoming the world's richest person.
But with Tesla's stock price soaring, Bezos spent much of 2021 vying with Musk for the top spot. Later that year, he trailed far behind until now, regaining the top position.
Bernard Arnault, the 74-year-old chairman of the French luxury goods giant LVMH, briefly surpassed Musk in 2022 to become the world's richest person. Currently, his net worth is $197.5 billion, ranking him third.
