Elon Musk Becomes Second Richest Person In The World; Overtakes Bill Gates

It has been an eventful year for Elon Musk, as the Tesla Inc co-founder beat several rankings, creating enough wealth to become the second richest person in the world on Monday.

The 49-year-old entrepreneur's net worth soared $7.2 billion to $127.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, driven by yet another surge in the share price of his company. His net worth has risen $100.3 billion this year, the most of anyone on the index that tracks daily movement in the wealth of 500 richest people in the world based on the market price of the investments they own.

Musk ranked 35th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in January.

Tesla's market value is approaching $500 billion. With about three-quarters of his net worth comprising of shares of the American electric vehicle and clean energy company, Musk became only the second person in the index's eight-year history to beat Microsoft Corp. co-founder Gates' ranking.

Bill Gates held the top spot for years before being bumped by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos in 2017. His net worth of $127.7 billion would be much higher had he not donated so prodigiously to charity over the years. He has given more than $27 billion to his charitable foundation since 2006.

Notably, in the midst of the pandemic, while many lives have been affected by widespread layoffs, the members of the Bloomberg index have collectively gained 23% or $1.3 trillion this year.