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Tuesday, September 01, 2020, 10:31
Elon Musk is now richer than Zuckerberg after Tesla stock split
By Bloomberg
Tuesday, September 01, 2020, 10:31 By Bloomberg

This combine photo shows Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Elon Musk. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

Elon Musk is now the third-richest person in the world.

Musk passed Facebook Inc co-founder Mark Zuckerberg Monday as shares of Tesla Inc continued their unrelenting rally after undergoing a forward stock split. Musk is now worth US$115.4 billion compared with US$110.8 billion for Zuckerberg, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Also Monday, Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife MacKenzie Scott became the world’s richest woman, passing L’Oreal SA heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers. Scott, 50, who received a 4 percent stake in Amazon.com Inc. as part of her divorce from founder Bezos, is now worth US$66.4 billion.

Musk, 49, has seen a meteoric rise in his wealth, with his net worth growing by US$87.8 billion this year as Tesla shares surged almost 500 percent. Also helpful: an audacious pay package -- the largest corporate pay deal ever struck between a chief executive officer and a board of directors -- that could yield him more than US$50 billion if all goals are met.

Musk is now worth US$115.4 billion compared with US$110.8 billion for Zuckerberg, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index

ALSO READ: Musk calls Gates underwhelming after billionaire buys a Porsche

Tesla, a favorite among amateur investors on online trading firm Robinhood Financial, has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the boom in retail investing during pandemic lockdowns. At one point last month, almost 40,000 Robinhood accounts added Tesla shares during a single four-hour span. And the trend isn’t limited to the US: South Korean retail investors have piled into Tesla this year and hold about a 1 percent stake in the American auto maker.

Tesla’s US$464 billion market value now exceeds that of retail behemoth Walmart Inc., the largest company in the US by revenue.

Last week, Musk joined Zuckerberg, Bezos and Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates in the rarefied centibillionaire club as tech stocks rose.

READ MORE: No apology to Elon Musk from British diver at defamation trial

The heady pace of wealth accumulation in recent months is in stark contrast to the state of the global economy. Growth has slumped sharply since the pandemic began with companies laying off millions of workers and consumer demand cratering. The brunt of economic pain has been borne by young and lower-wage workers, whose jobs are typically more vulnerable to Covid-related layoffs.

The rising income inequality has provoked sharp responses from many progressive politicians and critics on the left. US Senator Bernie Sanders this month introduced legislation to tax “extreme wealth gains” during the pandemic.

Musk still has a long way to become the world’s richest person. Bezos is worth more than US$200 billion.


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