Yahoo Finance Elon Musk Becomes World's Second-Richest Person as He Overtakes Bill Gates
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Elon Musk
Elon Musk has surpassed Bill Gates as the second-richest person in the world.
The Tesla founder, 49, is now listed higher than the Microsoft founder, 65, on the coveted Bloomberg Billionaires Index after Musk saw his net worth rise by $7.2 billion.
Both men are currently worth $128 billion, but Musk is ranked second while Gates is third.
In 2020, Musk's net worth rose by $100.3 billion. He was ranked 35th on the list back in January, according to Bloomberg.
The top spot is still held by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who has a total net worth of $182 billion.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images Elon Musk
Bill Gates
According to Bloomberg, Musk's financial surge came as Tesla's market share recently hit $500 billion, an all-time high for the electric automaker company.
This year alone, the company's stock is up more than 490%, according to CNBC.
Musk, a father of six, is also the chairman of the Musk Foundation and oversees SpaceX, which has launched two trips into space this year.
Gates' net worth would likely be higher if not for his philanthropy. Earlier this year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a donation of $125 million toward potential COVID-19 vaccines.
Bezos, 56, also made a hefty contribution earlier this year, donating $100 million to Feeding America, a hunger-relief organization, in order to help families who rely on food banks and have been majorly impacted by the pandemic.
RELATED VIDEO: Elon Musk Explains How to Pronounce Son X Æ A-12's Name, Says Grimes 'Mostly Came Up' with the Idea
Elon Musk Explains How to Pronounce Son X Æ A-12's Name, Says Grimes 'Mostly Came Up' with the Idea
According to Musk, X is spoken "like the letter" while "the 'Æ' is pronounced like 'ash.' "
Rounding out the top spots on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index are Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury-goods company, at No. 4 with $105 billion, followed by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who ranks as the fifth-richest person thanks to a $102 billion net worth.
