Elon Musk is the World’s Richest Person in 2021

The Briefing

• Just six days into the new year, Elon Musk became the world’s richest person in 2021
• His personal fortune is $188 billion, up 548% from one year ago
• Tesla shares are up 1,030% since the market bottom in 2020
• Elon Musk’s rocketing net worth may be the fastest accumulation of wealth in history

Elon Musk is the World’s Richest Person in 2021

2021 has been touted as a year of change.

And as far the pecking order of global wealth goes, the new year has already delivered. Just six days in, Elon Musk had already lapped Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person in 2021 with a personal net worth of $188 billion.

How did this happen so fast?

Since the stock market bottom in March 2020, Tesla shares have skyrocketed by 1,030% to $816 per share. Elon Musk happens to own about 241 million of those shares, putting his wealth accumulation into overdrive in a short period of time.

Pedal to the Medal

The boom in wealth has been so prolific for Musk that he’s left other billionaires in the dust.

One year ago, he wouldn’t have cracked the top 20 list—but with a surge in wealth of 548% since a year ago, he now sits at the top of the heat as the world’s richest person.

Is this a temporary bump, or will Elon Musk stay atop the world’s richest person rankings for the rest of 2021?

Really, it all depends on Tesla’s stock price performance—and those that have bet against Tesla in recent years don’t have a great track record to lean on.

That said, price swings can happen in either direction, and if Tesla’s stock finds itself coming down to Earth, it’s possible that Musk’s ranking in the billionaire pecking order could tumble down with it.

>> Liked this? See how Elon Musk built his empire

Where does this data come from?

Source: Bloomberg Billionaire Index
Details: Jan 6th, 2021 data
Notes: Net worth figures on the tracker get updated frequently, so any up-to-date data may not match that of this article.