Elon Musk gets richer: How much is the SA-born billionaire worth?

South Africa-born Elon Musk has extended his lead over France’s LVMH chairperson Bernard Arnault in the world’s richest person list.

Musk, 52, who was born in Pretoria in South Africa, has seen his fortune skyrocket by $110 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

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According to the latest figures, Musk now boasts a net worth of $247 billion, some $48 billion more than Arnault in second place ($199 billion).

They are followed by United States’ Jeff Bezos ($155 billion) who rounds out the Top 3.

The rest of the Top 10, in order, are: Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Steve Ballmer, Warren Buffet, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg and Sergey Brin.

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South Africa’s richest man, Johann Rupert, finds himself in 133rd position with a net wealth of $13.6 billion.

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Musk, who owns Twitter and is the CEO of Tesla, can attribute his recent rise in wealth to his shares in his electric vehicle giant surging to their highest level this year.

Tesla stock reached $235 per share earlier this month. After experiencing a decline and reaching a two-year low in early January 2023, Tesla shares have rebounded impressively, recording a gain of nearly 115%.

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Meanwhile, the big mover in the Top 10 richest list – apart from Musk – is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who has seen his fortune balloon by $58.6 billion in the almost five and a half months in 2023 to a total of $104 billion.

The figures are updated at the close of every trading day in New York.

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Correct as at 3 July 2023