Elon Musk Was The Richest Person In The World Very Briefly – Closed $20 Billion Gap In Four Days
ByBrian Warneron January 6, 2021inArticles›Billionaire News
Elon Musk started this week with a net worth of $170 billion. At that point he was $20 billion shy of Jeff Bezos’ $190 billion net worth . For a very brief moment this morning when trading opened, Elon was the richest person in the world. As of this writing (Thursday morning at 7am PST), Elon’s $184 billion net worth puts him $1 billion shy from being the richest person in the world. Technically $1 billion plus $1.
Here’s how the Musk and Bezos fortunes stacked up after Wednesday’s market close:
Elon Musk’s net worth = $181 billion
Jeff Bezos’ net worth = $184 billion
Here’s how the stack up in real time right now:
Elon Musk’s net worth = $184 billion
Jeff Bezos’ net worth = $185 billion
How We Got Here
Elon started 2020 with a net worth of $28 billion. He ended 2020 with a net worth of $175 billion.
If Jeff Bezos’ fortune continues to stay in the $184-186 range, we estimate that Elon needs Tesla to top $795 per share for him to take the crown. Tesla shares are currently trading at $790.
(Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Before that brief moment today, Jeff Bezos was the richest person in the world without interruption since October 2017. Jeff topped the list for the first time in July 2017, overtaking Bill Gates . Gates and Bezos traded back and forth for roughly four months, then Bezos took off without competition until today.
Elon is the fifth person in the last 25 years to hold the top spot at least temporarily. The other four are Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Carlos Slim and Warren Buffett .
Below is a year-by-year breakdown of the person who held the title of richest person in the world for the majority of each year going back to 1995.
| 1995 | Bill Gates | $12.9 billion |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Bill Gates | $18 billion |
| 1997 | Bill Gates | $36.4 billion |
| 1998 | Bill Gates | $51 billion |
| 1999 | Bill Gates | $90 billion |
| 2000 | Bill Gates | $60 billion |
| 2001 | Bill Gates | $58.7 billion |
| 2002 | Bill Gates | $52.8 billion |
| 2003 | Bill Gates | $47 billion |
| 2004 | Bill Gates | $46.6 billion |
| 2005 | Bill Gates | $50 billion |
| 2006 | Bill Gates | $52 billion |
| 2007 | Bill Gates | $56 billion |
| 2008 | Warren Buffett | $62 billion |
| 2009 | Bill Gates | $40 billion |
| 2010 | Carlos Slim Helu | $53.4 billion |
| 2011 | Carlos Slim Helu | $74 billion |
| 2012 | Carlos Slim Helu | $69 billion |
| 2013 | Carlos Slim Helu | $73 billion |
| 2014 | Bill Gates | $76 billion |
| 2015 | Bill Gates | $79.2 billion |
| 2016 | Bill Gates | $75 billion |
| 2017 | Bill Gates | $86 billion |
| 2018 | Jeff Bezos | $112 billion |
| 2019 | Jeff Bezos | $170 billion |
| 2020 | Jeff Bezos | $190 billion |
| 2021 | ??? | ??? |
- Elon Musk Is The Richest Person In The World!
- Elon Musk Is Now $11 Billion Away From Being The Richest Person On The Planet (He Started The Week $20 Billion Shy)
- Elon Musk Regains Status As The Richest Person In The World
- Elon Musk Is Just $20 Billion Away From Being The Richest Person On The Planet
- For The First Time Ever – Elon Musk Is Now The 4th-Richest Person On The Planet
- Elon Musk Was Briefly The 5th Richest Person In The World Today With A Net Worth of $80 Billion
