Jeff Bezos overtakes Elon Musk as world richest man

Jeff Bezos has reclaimed his title as the richest person in the world, ending the roughly six-week reign of Elon Musk atop the list.

After Tesla’s (TSLA) shares fell 2.4 percent, Musk lost about $ 4.5 billion on Tuesday, which was enough to knock him to second place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranking. 

As the wider stock market lost a bit of ground, Bezos’ net worth also fell—but his loss wasn’t as extreme, taking a hit of just about $372 million. That was sufficient to recapture the title he had held for three years or so.

Currently, the index says Bezos is worth $191 billion, compared with $190 billion for Musk.

At the beginning of January, Musk’s surge to first place occurred when Tesla’s stock was skyrocketing. During 2020, Tesla’s 170 million shares it already holds increased in value by $106 billion, as shares shot up 743 percent over the year. During a trader frenzy that sent GameStop shares exploding, the Tesla CEO also fanned the flames.

Bezos also had a very robust 2020. 

Due to the massive rise in revenue induced by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Amazon CEO’s share in the company rose by $75 billion in 2020, to $173.3 billion. 

He revealed earlier this month that he is stepping down from his position as CEO and will change to the role of the executive chair later this year.

Bill Gates, meanwhile, remains the third-richest individual in the world, worth $137 billion.