Jeff Bezos is back on top as the world’s riches man for the first time in three years as his worth sits at $200billion and former No. 1 Elon Musk saw his total stumble.
It comes after the Amazon founder sold off a total of $4billion worth of shares since mid-February, regulatory filings revealed.
At the same time, Tesla CEO and X chair Musk, 52, saw a judge rule in late January that he must hand back the biggest pay packet in corporate history, at $55billion, following accusations of the CEO strong-arming Tesla directors.
Bezos’ stock sales come after it emerged that he will set up his primary residence in Florida, taking advantage of the Sunshine State’s tax system.
Jeff Bezos has returned to the top of the list of world’s richest people for the first time in three years, as his largesse hits $200 billion and former number one Elon Musk’s wealth stumbles
Bezos, 60, topped the Bloomberg Billionaires Index for the first time since fall of 2021, surpassing Musk, who is now at $198 billion
Bezos stepped down as Amazon CEO in 2021. His current title is executive chairman. In the space of a week, he’s shed nearly 25 million shares of the company. These are the first shares that he’s sold since leaving his role as CEO.
Earlier this month, Bezos, who is consistently named as one of the wealthiest people in the world, said that he would sell 50 million of his Amazon shares by 2025 through brokerage firm Morgan Stanley.
Despite the sales, Bezos is still Amazon’s highest shareholder, owning close to ten percent of company stock.
Since February 2023, Amazon shares have soared over 50 percent with its price close to an all time high. Its market capitalization is around $1.75 trillion.
Bezos backed away from Amazon in order to spend more time on his other projects, including the rocket company, Blue Origin, and his philanthropy.
Musk, who now sits in second place, must hand back the biggest pay packet in corporate history after a judge ruled he strong-armed Tesla directors into awarding him $55 billion.
The ruling in a Delaware court comes five years after a lawsuit filed by shareholder Richard Tornetta targeted Musk and the directors of the electric car company he founded.
Chancery Court Judge Kathleen McCormick in her ruling found that the process leading to the board’s approval of his 2018 compensation package was ‘deeply flawed’.
It comes after the Amazon founder sold off a total of four billion dollars worth of shares since mid-February, regulatory filings revealed
Bezos’ stock sales come after it emerged that he will set up his primary residence in Florida , taking advantage of the Sunshine State’s tax system
At the same time, the Tesla CEO and X chair Musk, 52, saw a judge rule in late January that he must hand back the biggest pay packet in corporate history following accusations of the CEO strong-arming Tesla directors
Musk , who now sits in second place, must hand back the biggest pay packet in corporate history after a judge ruled he strong-armed Tesla directors into awarding him $55 billion
Musk had ‘extensive ties with the persons tasked with negotiating on Tesla’s behalf’, she found including General Counsel Todd Maron, who was his ‘former divorce attorney’.
Musk immediately reacted to the ruling on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, tweeting: ‘Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware.’
‘I recommend incorporating in Nevada or Texas if you prefer shareholders to decide matters.’
Defense lawyers said the pay plan was fairly negotiated by a committee of independent directors, contained lofty performance milestones, and was blessed by a shareholder vote that was not even required.
McCormick ordered directors back to the drawing board in a bid to come up with an appropriate pay package for the world’s richest man.
‘The parties are to confer on a form of final order implementing this decision and submit a joint letter identifying all issues, including fees that need to be addressed to bring this matter to a conclusion at the trial level,’ she wrote.
Musk owns 13 percent of Tesla stock but announced a bid earlier this month to secure a quarter of its voting stock.
‘I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control,’ he wrote on X.
Third on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index list is Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, with $197 billion
Mark Zuckerberg (pictured right) and Bill Gates, who come in at $179 billion and $150 billion, respectively, wrap up the top five
‘Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned.’
Tesla’s shares fell around 3 percent in the aftermath of the ruling.
Third on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index list is Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, with $197 billion.
He’s followed by Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, who come in at $179 billion and $150 billion, respectively.
Steve Ballmer, Warren Buffet, Larry Ellison, Larry Page and Sergey Brin round out the top ten.
L’Oreal Vice Chairman Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is he world’s richest woman, coming in at 15th on the list with $97.1 billion.