Elon Musk is once again the richest man in the world, the Daily Mail reported Monday.
Musk reclaimed the top spot, literally driven by shares of his electric car manufacturing company Tesla’s stock almost doubling since the beginning of the year.
Tesla stock has risen 92.07% since Jan. 2, according to the Daily Mail, increasing from $108.10 per share at the start of the year to closing at $207.63 per share Monday.
The stock rise gives Musk a net worth of $187.1 billion, some $50 billion more than the start of the year, and nearly $2 billion more than luxury goods mogul Bernard Arnault of LVMH, who has an approximate net worth of $185.3 billion.
Musk’s net-worth rebound comes after his finances took a temporary hit from the $44 billion purchase of Twitter, back in October.
According to the Daily Mail, Musk completed his Twitter deal by selling off roughly $15 billion in Tesla stock. This allowed Arnault to pass Musk on the net-worth rankings in December.
While Musk’s fortune largely derives from Tesla’s luxury car market, Arnault’s corporation retails several different luxury brands including Christian Dior, which Arnault bought out of bankruptcy in the 1980s, and now owns 97% of the company, according to the report.
LVMH also owns top-shelf wine and liquors like Hennessy cognac and Moet & Chandon champagne as well as fashion and accessory brands Luis Vuitton and Emilio Pucci, according to the company.
The LVMH corporation saw its sales increase 23% following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, bringing in 79 million Euros in 2022, according to the company’s website.
“Our performance in 2022 illustrates the exceptional appeal of our Maisons and their ability to create desire during a year affected by economic and geopolitical challenges,” Arnault said on the website.
Arnault continued: “The Group once again recorded significant growth in revenue and earnings. Our growth strategy, based on the complementary nature of our activities, as well as their geographic diversity, encourages innovation and the quality of our creations, the excellence of their distribution, and adds a cultural and historical dimension thanks to the heritage of our Maisons.”
Conversely, Musk was struggling somewhat at the end of 2022, with his Twitter acquisition leading to several thousand layoffs at the company. At some point, Twitter was reportedly losing $4 million a day.
“There is no choice when the company is losing over $4mn/day,” Musk acknowledged in the fall.
Musk also defended the decision, saying that all of those who were fired were offered three months of severance, “50% more than legally required,” according to the report.
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