Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk has regained his spot as the world’s richest person with his net worth now above US$200bn, according to Forbes.
Tesla’s share price has started the year on a high, rising 14% so far and aiding the slight resurgence in his wealth, which is mostly tied up in the company.
Bernard Arnault, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey owner, had snatched the top spot on several occasions last year, but now sits in third behind Musk and Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.
Last year, Musk picked up the Guinness world record title for the highest-ever annual loss of wealth as his personal net worth fell from US$320bn in November 2021 to US$155bn in December.
That US$165bn slump saw him surpass previous record holder and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, whose fortune decreased by a comparatively modest US$58.6bn in 2000.
Struggles with his takeover of loss-making Twitter and his unloading of some US$40bn worth of Tesla stock, which subsequently fell 60% last year, were the reasons for the significant dip in Musk’s worth.
He looked to calm Tesla staff in a late December email saying: "Don't be too bothered by stock market craziness.
As we demonstrate continued excellent performance, the market will recognise that," though he added he would not offload any more shares in the company.
“I’m not selling any stock for, I don’t know, a minimum of 18-24 months,” he said, likely trying to reassure investors who had slated him over his Twitter takeover.
“I needed to sell some stock just to make sure there’s still some powder dry to account for a worst-case scenario,” he added.