Jan. 7 (UPI) — Elon Musk became the world’s richest person Thursday with a net worth of more than $185 billion.
Tesla stock increased by 7.94% on Thursday pushing Musk’s net worth above Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who had been the world’s richest person since 2017 with a current net worth of about $184 billion.
Acting as CEO and product architect of Tesla, and founder and CEO of SpaceX, Musk began 2020 with a net worth of about $27 billion, placing him barely among the 50 richest people in the world.
Throughout the year he made his way up the list, overtaking Warren Buffett to take seventh place in July and surpassing Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person in November.
Musk added more than $150 billion to his net worth over the past year as Tesla stock shot up in price and he received an extensive pay package.
Tesla stock surged 743% in 2020 after reporting consistent profits, and shares have gained more than 23,900% since its initial public offering in 2010.
The stock also debuted on the S&P 500 index on Dec. 21.
Musk’s rise in wealth comes after he was forced to step down as chairman of Tesla’s board in 2018 as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission after tweeting he was exploring taking the company private at $420 per share.
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