Elon Musk is the CEO and founder of several businesses in the world, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, Boring Company, and the newly-acquired Twitter. It is then no wonder why he is one of the wealthiest persons in the world.
In fact, Musk stole the "world's richest person title" from Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos, last year (2021). It was an incredible feat since Bezos has held the number one spot on the billionaire's index since 2017.
But as we near the end of 2022, rankings are now shaking up the index. As of writing, Musk has lost the richest person title as Tesla stocks continue to decline, according to a report by Bloomberg
Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks up as he addresses guests at the Offshore Northern Seas 2022 (ONS) meeting in Stavanger, Norway on August 29, 2022. - The meeting, held in Stavanger from August 29 to September 1, 2022, presents the latest developments in Norway and internationally related to the energy, oil and gas sector.
Second Richest Person
Musk has slipped to second place on the list of the wealthiest people in the world as a result of the 50% decline in the value of Tesla stock since the start of the year.
Tesla and Musk had a great year in 2021, with the stock price reaching a record high of $407.36 in November and Musk's net worth surpassing $340 billion. But his fortunes started to decline as 2022 rolled around.
Musk revealed in April that he was going to buy Twitter and turn the social media platform private to realize its full potential. Musk's $44 billion offer appeared too expensive to accept within days as tech company stock prices started to decline due to rising interest rates.
Musk had to sell some of his Tesla stock to help pay for his acquisition of Twitter, but this undermined investor confidence because Musk fired the Twitter board and became the CEO of five different firms.
The valuation of Tesla shares has now decreased by more than 50% just in 2022. The billionaire owns a 14% share in Tesla and has a total net worth of $164 billion. He has so far suffered a loss of more than $100 billion in his wealth this year.
Who is No. 1?
The top spot on the list of the richest persons in the world is currently held by 73-year-old Bernard Arnault, the CEO of luxury goods producer LVMH. He is also the first person from France and even Europe to accomplish such a feat.
On Wall Street, Tesla is usually described as a technology business, even if it produces electric vehicles. Tesla was among the tech stocks that fell amid mounting worries about an impending economic slump.
Unlike Tesla's stock price, which has dropped by 52% this year, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index has only decreased by 29% this year.
The drop can be partially attributed to Tesla's reliance on China, which closely upholds its "zero-COVID" policy, for the production of its electric vehicles.
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