Jeff Bezos has recovered his title of world’s richest person, concluding Elon Musk’s roughly six-week reign on top of the list. The 49-year-old entrepreneur transcended Bezos in January to become the wealthiest person in the world, on the back of Tesla’s increasing share price and his generous pay package.
Musk lost about $4.5 billion Tuesday after Tesla (TSLA) shares fell 2.4%, which was sufficient to knock him to second place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranking. Bezos’ net value also fell as the broader stock market lost a bit of ground. But his loss wasn’t as severe, only taking a hit of about $372 million. That was enough to regain his title that he held for about three years.
The index currently says Bezos is worth $191 billion compared to Musk’s $190 billion.
Musk’s surge to first place happened in early January when Tesla’s stock was skyrocketing. The 170 million shares of Tesla he previously owns increased in value by $106 billion during 2020, as shares shot up 743% during the year. The Tesla CEO also fanned the sparks during a trader frenzy that sent GameStop (GME) shares exploding (and later collapsed).
Bezos had a relatively robust 2020, too. The Amazon CEO’s stake in the company increased by $75 billion in 2020, to $173.3 billion, given the massive increase in sales driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. Earlier this month, he declared that he’s stepping down from his CEO role and transitioning to the executive chair’s role later this year.
Meanwhile, Bill Gates continues the world’s third-richest person with $137 billion worth.