Jeff Bezos dethrones Elon Musk to become the richest person on Earth again

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN

New York (CNN) — Jeff Bezos has reclaimed the title of the richest person on Earth, surpassing Elon Musk, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Monday.

The Amazon founder’s net worth was $200 billion, while Musk followed at $198 billion. Musk has lost about $31 billion over the past year, while Bezos has gained $23 billion, according to the index.

Tesla shares had tumbled more than 7% on Monday.

Musk had reclaimed the title of world’s richest person in May 2023, edging out LVMH (LVMHF) CEO Bernard Arnault, who runs one of the world’s biggest conglomerates and includes brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Celine. The three centibillionaires — Musk, Arnault and Bezos — have been in competition with each other for the top spot for months. Arnault had held the title as his wealth climbed due to a boom in luxury goods sales that helped drive up LVMH’s stock price.

Earlier this year, a Delaware state court judge threw out Musk’s 2018 pay package — worth more than $50 billion — that helped to make him one of the richest people in the world. Tesla shares also tumbled about 24% year-to-date.

Of course, the title of the richest person on earth swaps every few months, depending on markets performance. Musk and Arnault still hold plenty of wealth — since 2020, the net worth of the five wealthiest people on earth has skyrocketed 114% to a total of $869 billion, after taking inflation into account, according to Oxfam’s annual inequality report.

– CNN’s Michelle Toh, Tami Luhby and Chris Isidore contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.