Elon Musk, Chief Executive of Tesla, overtook Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to become the world’s wealthiest person, US media reported Thursday.
Musk is a major shareholder of the electric car company and has benefited from Tesla’s surging share price over the last year. CNBC estimated Musk’s wealth at $185 billion.
Tesla had a strong 2020 as it ramped up auto production, broke ground on new factories and reported a series of profitable quarters that enabled shares to rise more than 700 per cent during the year as it was added to the prestigious S&P 500 index.
Shares of Tesla surged 5.9 per cent to $800.43 in late morning trading, lifting the company’s market capitalization above $750 billion.
