Elon Musk regains the title of the world’s richest man with a net worth of $209 billion

Elon Musk recaptured the title of world’s richest person during Memorial Day weekend, saying that his new AI business, xAI, had raised $6 billion at a pre-money valuation of $18 billion.

Musk is now the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $209.2 billion, exceeding Bernard Arnault’s $199.3 billion. As of May 30, 2024, Arnault is ranked third, and Jeff Bezos is in second place with an estimated $199.9 billion.

After a recent agreement including investors from his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter (now renamed), Forbes values Elon Musk’s 60% ownership in xAI at $14.4 billion. 

Musk’s wealth is mostly derived from his almost 12% ownership of Tesla and 42% of SpaceX, which were both worth over $75 billion as of Tuesday’s market close.

Furthermore, according to Forbes, Musk’s 74% ownership in his social media platform is now only worth $7 billion, which is almost 70% less than what it was originally valued at when it was purchased in 2022.

Musk and Arnault are still fighting for the top rank in the globe because of Tesla’s erratic stock price and the growing value of SpaceX.

A Delaware judge ruled in late January that Musk’s 2018 performance-based Tesla stock options, worth close to $50 billion, were void due to improper award procedures.

On June 13, Tesla shareholders will decide whether to approve Musk’s options again, which Forbes cut by 50% following the decision. According to reports, SpaceX wants to be valued at $200 billion, up from $180 billion in December of last year.

Here are the top 10 billionaires as of May 30 according to the Forbes Real Time Billionaire Index.