Elon Musk reclaims title as world's richest person

Bloomberg Billionaires Index places Tesla co-founder at top of rich list after gains in the electric car maker's stock price

Elon Musk has reclaimed his place as the world's richest person after a rollercoaster 2022 that resulted in his wealth plummeting amid a sell-off of technology stocks and numerous controversies related to his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.

Mr Musk, co-founder of Tesla and also the owner of SpaceX, was worth $187 billion when markets closed on Monday, nudging aside Bernard Arnault, chairman of French luxury group LVMH, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The centibillionaire, 51, has added $50.1 billion, or 36.6 per cent, to his personal fortune since the beginning of the year.

Watch: Who is billionaire Elon Musk?

Who is billionaire Elon Musk?

Mr Arnault now has a net worth of $185 billion. So far this year, he has added $23.3 billion to his fortune.

The majority of Mr Musk’s fortune is tied to Tesla stock, which has jumped 92.07 per cent this year to trade at $207.63 on Monday.

However, the stock is still down by nearly half its value compared with January 2022, when it was trading at $399.93.

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In January, Mr Musk broke the world record for the biggest wealth loss in history after shedding $182 billion from his net worth since November 2021, according to a report by Guinness World Records.

In 2022 alone, the father of 10 shed a whopping $138 billion from his net worth — almost equivalent to the gross domestic product of Hungary — resulting in Mr Musk losing his world’s richest crown for the first time in 14 months on December 12.

Mr Musk started 2023 with a net worth of $138 billion, a sharp drop from the peak of his wealth of $320 billion in 2021, Forbes magazine data shows.

He made his first millions in the 1990s, when he sold his first company, Zip2, for more than $300m. He then launched X.com, an online payment system that eventually became PayPal, which he sold to eBay for $1.5bn in 2002.

Meanwhile, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos remains in third place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $117 billion.

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Bernard Arnault, 73, is chairman and chief executive of LVMH, which owns 70 fashion and beauty brands including Louis Vuitton. He’s worth $186.2bn. AFP

Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the world's fourth-richest person with a personal fortune of $114 billion and Warren Buffett remains in fifth place with a net worth of $106 billion.

Until January, embattled Indian tycoon Gautam Adani held the third-place spot.

However, he has fallen to 32nd place as the market value of the Adani group of companies continues to plummet following a scathing report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research.

Mr Adani now has a net worth of $37.7 billion.

Top 5 richest people in the world

1. Elon Musk — $187 billion
2. Bernard Arnault — $185 billion
3. Jeff Bezos — $117 billion
4. Bill Gates — $114 billion
5. Warren Buffett — $106 billion

Updated: February 28, 2023, 4:48 AM