Elon Musk has relinquished his title as the world's richest person for the first time in more than nine months, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The transformation comes after Tesla's stock price fell 7.2% on March 4th. Musk's net worth now stands at $197.7 billion, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has reclaimed the top spot with a wealth of $200.3 billion.
This means Bezos has returned to the top of Bloomberg's rankings for the first time since 2021. The wealth gap between the two tech giants, once as high as $142 billion, has narrowed significantly as their fortunes shift due to conflicting stock trends.
Both companies are part of the Magnificent Seven stocks that have fueled the U.S. market, with Amazon's stock price more than doubling since late 2022 and approaching record highs. In contrast, Tesla stock has fallen about 50% compared to its 2021 peak.
The drop in Tesla's stock price was due to preliminary data showing shipments from the company's Shanghai factory fell sharply, hitting the lowest level in more than a year. Meanwhile, Amazon reported its best online sales growth since the early days of the pandemic, Bloomberg reported.
Musk's wealth could face further challenges following a Delaware court ruling that struck down his $55 billion pay package at Tesla as excessive. Although the options included in the defunct plan remain part of his net worth calculation for now, they were among his most valuable assets.
Meanwhile, Bezos has derived the bulk of his wealth (about 9%) from Amazon stock, and remains the company's largest shareholder despite recently selling $8.5 billion worth of stock.
This is not the first time Bezos has held the title of world's richest person. Mr. Bezos initially outperformed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 2017, but then spent much of 2021 in a wealthy race with Mr. Musk. After briefly falling behind, Bezos has now regained the top spot.
While Musk and Bezos are vying for the top spot, Bernard Arnault, chairman of the world's largest luxury goods company LVMH, remains the leading contender in the race for the rich, with a net worth of $197.5 billion.
(Based on information from Bloomberg)
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