Elon Musk rakes in the dollars as gap widens atop world’s richest list

South Africa-born Elon Musk has extended his lead over France’s Bernard Arnault in the world’s richest person list.

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Musk, 51, who was born in Pretoria, has seen his fortune skyrocket in 2023 – to the tune of $84.2 billion – according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

According to the latest figures, Musk now boasts a net worth of $221 billion, some $32 billion more than LVMH chairperson Arnault in second place ($189 billion).

They are followed by United States’ Jeff Bezos ($147 billion) who rounds out the Top 3.

The rest of the Top 10, in order, are: Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffet, Steve Ballmer, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg.

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Musk, who owns Twitter and is the CEO of Tesla, can attribute his recent rise in wealth to his shares in his electric vehicle giant surging to their highest level this year.

Tesla stock reached $235 per share late last week. After experiencing a decline and reaching a two-year low in early January 2023, Tesla shares have rebounded impressively, recording a gain of nearly 115%.

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Meanwhile, the big mover in the Top 10 richest list – apart from Musk – is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who has seen his fortune balloon by $51.1 billion in the almost five and a half months in 2023 to a total of $96.7 billion.

The figures are updated at the close of every trading day in New York.

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Below, the Top 10 richest people in the world

Correct as at 9 June 2023