Elon Musk, the serial entrepreneur is now the world’s fourth-richest person after Tesla Inc. shares surged 11 percent on Monday, closing at a record high and boosting Musk’s net worth by $7.8 billion.
The rise vaulted Musk, the Tesla co-founder past French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault, the wealthiest non-American on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk’s $84.8 billion fortune puts him within $15 billion of Mark Zuckerberg, No. 3 on the ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.
Monday’s Tesla rally is just the latest triumph for the billionaire who only two years ago was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and had to resign as chairman of the electric-car maker over rogue tweets.
Tesla shares are up 339 percent this year, fueled by growing anticipation that the company will be included in the S&P 500 Index.