There was a change in the ranking of the world’s wealthiest individuals as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos overtook Elon Musk as the second-richest person on Tuesday. This marks the fourth time since the beginning of March that Bezos and Musk have switched positions in the wealth rankings. Bezos’ estimated net worth increased by about $1.3 billion, while Musk’s fortune decreased by about $1.2 billion according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaire List. As of Tuesday afternoon, Forbes estimated Bezos’ net worth to be around $194.1 billion, surpassing Musk’s estimated net worth of $193 billion.
Despite the switch in rankings between Bezos and Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes, is still Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of LVMH. Arnault’s estimated net worth was $235.3 billion as of Tuesday afternoon. Musk’s fall to the third-wealthiest position came just one day after he had regained the second-richest title due to an increase in Tesla’s stock price. The news of a price increase for Tesla’s Model Y electric vehicle in some regions led to a more than 5% rise in Tesla’s stock price on Monday, marking its biggest single-day percentage jump since November 2023.
An interesting statistic to note is that Amazon’s stock was up by 0.59% on Tuesday afternoon, while Tesla’s stock price had reversed course and fallen by 1.38% to approximately $171.41 per share. This fluctuation in stock prices has been a key factor in the ever-changing wealth rankings of Bezos and Musk. Since the beginning of March, the two billionaires have been consistently swapping positions in the wealth rankings. Last week, Tesla shares dropped to a fresh 10-month low after analysts from Wells Fargo criticized the company, calling it a “growth company with no growth.” A large portion of Musk’s wealth comes from his stake in Tesla, while Bezos’ wealth is primarily from his stake in Amazon.
A surprising fact to note is that when Bezos overtook Musk for the first time in 2021 on March 6, it was the first instance since August 2021 that Musk had fallen outside of the top two in Forbes’ real-time billionaire rankings. This highlights the volatility in the wealth rankings of the world’s richest individuals, as they are heavily influenced by changes in stock prices and market performance. The ongoing competition between Bezos and Musk for the title of the second-wealthiest person in the world continues to captivate the financial world. For those interested in further details about this story, there are many sources available for additional reading and analysis on this topic.
