Elon Musk is $ 8 billion away from surpassing Bill Gates as the second richest person in the world



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Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

Elon Musk is $ 8 billion short of evicting Bill Gates as the second richest person in the world.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX saw his net worth rise from $ 10.2 billion to $ 120 billion on Wednesday, as a result of Tesla shares surging 10% after Morgan Stanley gave the shares a rating. overweight, according to Bloomberg. It was the second consecutive day of earnings for Musk: After Tesla was added to the S&P 500 index this week, his wealth surged to $ 114 billion, overshadowing the fortune of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and making him the third richest in the world.

Now, it appears to be within a rise of Tesla shares from surpassing Gates’ $ 128 billion fortune.

Musk’s wealth comes from a large stake in Tesla and his other companies, such as SpaceX and the Boring Company. His huge fortune doesn’t technically mean he can spend lavishly – he’s notorious for not receiving a cash salary from Tesla, with his complicated compensation package tied to ambitious performance targets.

In recent months, Musk has also said that he is no longer interested in owning physical possessions, announcing that he “would not own a home.” Since then, he has reportedly sold two of his California mansions.

If Musk is able to unseat Gates as the world’s second-wealthiest, it would be the latest development in a simmering feud between the two tycoons, who have clashed repeatedly this year, starting when Gates said he bought a Porsche electric car in instead of a Tesla. prompting Musk to say that Gates doesn’t know what he’s talking about when it comes to electric cars. More recently, Gates and Musk had a fight over the coronavirus: Gates called Musk’s comments about the outbreak “outrageous” and Musk recently described Gates as an “airhead.”

Another surge in Musk’s wealth would also rank him second to Jeff Bezos, whose $ 183 billion fortune makes him the richest person in the world. Musk and Bezos have been locked in a rivalry for more than 15 years that began over their competing rocket companies – SpaceX and Blue Origin, respectively.

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