Elon Musk Surpasses Bill Gates To Become World's Second Richest

Thanks to Tesla, Inc's TSLA 6.59% surge on Monday, its Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has become the world's second-richest person, surpassing Microsoft Corporation MSFT co-founder Bill Gates, according to Bloomberg.

What Happened: Musk is ranked second with a fortune of $127.9 billion, followed by Bill Gates with $127.7 billion in wealth, in Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.

The Tesla CEO, who started the year as the thirty-fifth richest on the list, has added $100 billion in 2020, the largest addition to the net worth of any in the list of world's 500 richest people. More than three-quarters of his wealth is comprised of Tesla shares, which have grown a massive 523.7% year-to-date.

Bloomberg also noted that Gates' ranking would have been higher had he not donated more than $27 billion to his foundation since 2006. Amazon.com Inc AMZN chief Jeff Bezos is still the world's richest with a fortune of $182 billion.

Why It Matters: Though this year has been good for Tesla's stock, it can get even better in 2021. Tesla stands to gain from its inclusion in the S&P 500 index. 

On one side, the EV maker has been a target for short sellers, but on the other, it has also received $578 and $1,000 price targets by analysts.

Price Action: TSLA shares are trading higher by 2.92% to $537.11 in the pre-market session on the last check Tuesday.

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