Elon Musk has reclaimed his title as the richest man in the world after a rise in Tesla's stock over the last few weeks. While the stock, in which much of Musk's wealth is tied up, took a massive hit in 2022, it's bounced back a bit over the last month. Since February 1, Tesla is up 17%. It is still down significantly from its highs in 2021 however. According to reports from Barron’s, the SpaceX co-founder owns approximately 424 million shares of Tesla.
As it stands, Musk’s net worth was just north of $187.1 billion as of Monday after markets closed, according to Bloomberg. The figure positions him just over Bernard Arnault, CEO of French luxury brand LVMH (LVMHF), who is worth $185.3 billion. All-in-all, Musk spent a little over two months at the No. 2 spot before regaining it this week.
Elon Musk In 2022
Despite the recent gains, Musk is still down significantly over the last year. At the end of 2022, he became the first person to ever lose $200 billion. His net worth plummeted from $340 billion in Nov. 2021 to $137 billion in Dec. 2022. Outside of Tesla, Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter has also done a good deal to damage his personal wealth. The decision to buy the company shook Tesla investors for starters.
Additionally, his behavior on the platform has become increasingly erratic. In one recent post, he claimed that the United States media is racist against white people. "For a very long time, US media was racist against non-white people, now they’re racist against whites & Asians. Same thing happened with elite colleges & high schools in America," he said. "Maybe they can try not being racist." Behind the scenes, there have been large layoffs at the company as well. In his time at the site, he's also launched a paid verification program known as Twitter Blue. The feature got off to a rocky start in 2022 but has since launched in full.
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