Tesla CEO Elon Musk wound up his visit to China on Thursday to be greeted by the news he has reclaimed the top spot as the world’s richest person.
Bloomberg Billionaires Index released its daily rankings of the world’s 500 richest people just hours before Musk stepped into his private jet in Beijing to fly home to Texas.
Musk’s first trip to China in three years came amid increased competition in the market for electric vehicles and rumors about Tesla’s future ambitions in the nation, as Breitbart News reported.
Fidelity Investments also estimated Twitter is now worth just one-third of the $44 billion the tech mogul paid for the social media giant about nine months ago.
Despite those financial headwinds, the Bloomberg listing put the Twitter owner and and SpaceX chief back on top of a crowded field – dominated by U.S.-based business people – with an estimated net worth of $192 billion.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called out Elon Musk and other American CEOs for catering to China for economic gain. https://t.co/rrUnYfsgFZ
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 1, 2023
As UPI reports, Musk beat out French billionaire Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury goods company LVMH, who is worth an estimated $187 billion. Arnault’s current net worth is a significant drop from his more than $200 billion last month when he was considered the richest person in the world.
Arnault’s brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior and Celine, saw a boom in December as the tech industry struggled, UPI points out.
But LVMH’s stock shares slid about 10 percent in the last month with Arnault’s net worth dropping $11 billion in one day.
While LVMH’s shares are up 19.7 percent overall this year, electric automaker Tesla’s shares — which Musk owns about 13 percent — have shot up 65.6 percent.
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In addition to the South African born business magnate and Arnault in the two top spots, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos came in third with $144 billion.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is the fourth richest person with $125 billion.
U.S. business investor and Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison rounded out the top five with $118 billion.