Elon Musk already holds the world record for losing the most money, and the Tesla CEO has lost another $30.5 billion in the first month of 2024. At the same time, his rival in wealth, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has gained $7.3 billion.
Now the gap between the tech moguls is just $15 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That might sound like a lot (a lot, a lot) to normal people, but it’s not much in the race to the top for the world’s richest, especially considering that Musk has already lost twice that sum in just a few weeks.
It’s no surprise that Musk’s wealth is diminishing. The Twitter (now X) owner not only captures headlines for his antics, but also for his business ventures’ recent headaches. X’s value has plummeted 72% since Musk took over. Tesla shares have nosedived since December, when the company recalled almost all of its 2 million cars sold in the US. SpaceX, which Musk chairs, had another unsuccessful launch of its mega rocket, Starship, at the end of last year, and the business still isn’t profitable.
Meanwhile, Space X rival Blue Origin, owned by Bezos, said last week that it’s one step closer to launching its new rocket.
And the bronze (soon to be silver?) medal goes to…Bernard Arnault
The French LVMH chairman may capture fewer headlines, but he’s a nose hair behind Bezos in the relay to richest. Arnault gained about $4 billion in wealth in January.
LVMH is a luxury conglomerate that owns Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Sephora, among other brands. The company had a glowing earnings report last week, with profits up 10% ($93 million) in 2023.