How wealthy is Elon Musk compared to other billionaires?
Elon Musk saw his net worth jump $9.8 billion over the last 24 hours. Photo: X @elonmusk

Home » Elon Musk claims No 2 spot in world’s richest list: Latest ranking

Elon Musk claims No 2 spot in world’s richest list: Latest ranking

South Africa-born Elon Musk on Friday reclaimed the No 2 spot in the list of world’s richest people. Check out the latest numbers …

26-04-24 12:27
How wealthy is Elon Musk compared to other billionaires?
Elon Musk saw his net worth jump $9.8 billion over the last 24 hours. Photo: X @elonmusk

According to the Forbes Real Time Billionaires website, South Africa-born Elon Musk on Friday moved back to the No 2 spot in the list of world’s richest people.

As reported by The South African website on Thursday, Musk saw his net worth jump $9.8 billion over the previous 24 hours.

The 52-year-old added another $4.5 billion in the last day.

The reason for Musk’s sudden increase in fortune came after he confirmed that Tesla plans to start production of new models in “early 2025, if not late this year,” after previously expecting to begin in the second half of 2025.

In addition, Musk also touted Tesla’s investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure and said the company is in talks with “one major automaker” to license its driver assistance system, which is marketed in the US as the full self-driving, or FSD, option.

In its shareholder deck, Tesla showed off screens of a robotaxi-based ride-hailing service.

The company has been promising a self-driving vehicle for years without delivering on Musk’s promise.

Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla.

BERNARD ARNAULT REMAINS THE RICHEST PERSON IN THE WORLD

Meanwhile, France’s founder, chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault, leads the way in terms of richest in the world with $211.8 billion.

Musk is now second with $192.2 billion, with American Amazon founder Jeff Bezos rounding out the top three.

LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding and conglomerate specialising in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris.

Musk was once comfortably the world’s richest person, but his $44 billion purchase of social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) saw him drop down the rankings.

Musk is the fourth-youngest member of the top 10 club, behind Mark Zuckerberg (39), Sergey Brin (50) and Larry Page (51).

Following Bezos in the top 10, in order, are Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett, Page, Bill Gates, Brin and Steve Ballmer.

Apart from Arnault, the rest of the top 10 are all American citizens.

The figures are updated in real-time.

TOP 10 RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

Correct as of 26 April 2024 at 12:00 SA time

RankNameNet worthAge
1Bernard Arnault & family$211.8 billion75
2Elon Musk$192.2 billion52
3Jeff Bezos$192.1 billion60
4Mark Zuckerberg$155.0 billion39
5Larry Ellison$143.4 billion79
6Warren Buffett$133.6 billion93
7Larry Page$130.2 billion51
8Bill Gates$128.1 billion68
9Sergey Brin$125.0 billion50
10Steve Ballmer$119.4 billion68

Meanwhile, another French national, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, tops the list of “richest woman in the world”.

She is the 15th-richest person in the world.

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is the granddaughter of the founder of personal care company L’Oreal.

Bettencourt Meyers and her family own more than a third of publicly traded L’Oreal.

She has served on L’Oreal’s board since 1997 and is the chairwoman of the family holding company.

She became France’s reigning L’Oreal heiress in 2017 when her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, then the world’s richest woman, died at age 94.

TOP 10 RICHEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD:

RankNameNet worthAge
1Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family$93.9 billion70
2Alice Walton$72.4 billion74
3Julia Koch & family$65.7 billion62
4Jacqueline Mars$39.1 billion84
5Savitri Jindal & family$36.0 billion74
6Rafaela Aponte-Diamant$33.9 billion79
7MacKenzie Scott$32.4 billion54
8Gina Rinehart$30.1 billion70
9Miriam Adelson & family$29.9 billion78
10Iris Fontbona & family$28.9 billion81

For interest’s sake, Warren Buffett, at 93 years of age, is the oldest member of the overall top 10 list.

By contrast, the oldest person on the woman’s top 10 list is 84-year-old Jacqueline Mars.

The average age of those in the top 10 richest overall is 63.5, while the average age on the top 10 women’s list is considerably higher at 72.5.