World’s richest list: Elon Musk’s fortune skyrockets

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

Musk, 51, who was born in Pretoria in South Africa, has seen his fortune skyrocket this year by $106 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

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According to the latest figures, Musk now boasts a net worth of $243 billion, some $46 billion more than Arnault in second place ($197 billion).

They are followed by United States’ Jeff Bezos ($150 billion) who rounds out the Top 3.

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

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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 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 20 June 2023