Elon Musk, who recently occupied the pinnacle, now finds himself in fourth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, displaced by Mark Zuckerberg who surged to third position on Friday. The exchange in their rankings, a departure from the norm since 2020, was catalyzed by news of Tesla Inc. abandoning plans for a more affordable vehicle, precipitating a downturn in Tesla’s shares. This setback followed an earlier revelation of Tesla’s first dip in year-over-year vehicle deliveries since the onset of the Covid pandemic.
Contrastingly, Zuckerberg’s fortunes soared by $58.9 billion this year, buoyed by Meta Platforms Inc., the erstwhile Facebook, attaining unprecedented heights. Zuckerberg’s net worth, now at $186.9 billion, eclipses Musk’s $180.6 billion. This reversal in their financial discrepancy underscores the transition from electric vehicle stocks to the prominence of big tech, particularly entities entrenched in artificial intelligence.
Tesla’s stocks nosedived by 34% this year, grappling with multifaceted hurdles including a global deceleration in electric vehicle demand, heightened competition in China, and logistical impediments in Germany, rendering it the most lackluster performer in the S&P 500 Index.
Conversely, Meta’s stocks surged by 49%, fueled by robust quarterly earnings and fervent anticipation surrounding its AI ventures, propelling it to the upper echelons as the fifth-best performer on the S&P 500.
The rivalry between Musk and Zuckerberg transcends their wealth, extending into the realm of their respective company offerings. Meta’s introduction of Threads, a social media platform in direct competition with Musk’s X, intensified their public discord, even spawning talks of a potential physical altercation.
Musk’s net worth faces further jeopardy following a Delaware court’s annulment of his $55 billion Tesla compensation package, notwithstanding Bloomberg’s continued incorporation of options from said package in its wealth calculations.
Atop the Bloomberg wealth hierarchy reign Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, commanding $223.4 billion, and Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Inc.’s progenitor, with a wealth tally of $207.3 billion.