Elon Musk overtakes Mark Zuckerberg to become number 3 on the list of wealthiest humans alive

The Tesla CEO’s net worth increased to a staggering $115 billion this week after the electric car company’s stock increased by 12% on Monday. The 49-year-old has now overtaken Mark Zuckerberg to become number three on the list of the wealthiest humans alive, according to Bloomberg. In July, Mr Musk became the seventh richest person in the world, so this week’s achievement is an astonishingly fast accumulation of wealth in just two months. Tesla’s stock has already soared by approximately 500% in 2020, and the company is now worth about $475 billion. Mr Musk owns more than 18% of its shares, more than three times the next-largest stockholder. As Tesla’s stock has exploded so has his wealth, rising by nearly $90 billion this year alone. In January 2020 his net worth was about $32 billion. He does not receive a salary or cash bonuses as CEO, instead getting paid in millions of stock options. Mr Musk is now only poorer than Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Mr Bezos, Mr Gates and Warren Buffett, along with Mr Zuckerberg and Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, have collectively gained over $100billion since March.