In a swift turn of events, Elon Musk has been dethroned as the world’s richest person on Forbes’ real-time billionaire ranking.
His recent reign as number one came to an end due to a significant crash in Tesla stock.
Musk’s fortune took a hit as Tesla’s shares plummeted by over 7% this week, resulting in a staggering loss of $21.2 billion from his net worth.
As of Friday noon, his total wealth stands at $236.5 billion, placing him $1.6 billion behind the new top-ranked billionaire, French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault.
Earlier in the week, things seemed positive for Musk as Tesla shares reached their 2023 high.
However, after the release of the company’s second-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, investor sentiment soured due to growing concerns about Tesla’s valuation.
The pessimistic response led to a nearly 10% drop in Tesla’s stock on Thursday and an additional 0.5% decrease on Friday.
As Musk owns approximately 23% of Tesla through stock and options, the market decline significantly impacted his personal wealth.
Meanwhile, Arnault, a long-time rival in the billionaire rankings, had a more stable week with LVMH, the luxury conglomerate he owns.
Although LVMH’s shares dipped around 3% over the week, Arnault’s ownership of approximately 48% in the company resulted in a milder loss compared to Musk.
