Tech moguls Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos saw their net worths surge by a combined $7.8 billion on Friday, following strong performances by Tesla and Amazon shares.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX and xAI, gained $5.8 billion, pushing his total net worth to $413.2 billion, according to Forbes real-time billionaire tracker. A 3.21% increase in Tesla’s share price, closing at $329.65, was the primary driver of the gain. Musk owns roughly 12% of Tesla, although more than half of that stake is pledged as collateral for personal loans estimated at $3.5 billion.
In addition to Tesla, Musk’s wealth is significantly tied to his 42% ownership of SpaceX—recently valued at $350 billion—and majority control of AI startup xAI, valued at $50 billion as of late 2024.
Despite legal battles, including a Delaware court’s voiding of his 2018 Tesla compensation package (currently under appeal), Musk remains the richest person in the world.
Meanwhile, Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos added $2 billion to his wealth after Amazon shares rose 1.01% to close at $226.13. With a roughly 9% stake in the company he founded in 1994, Bezos’s net worth now stands at $239.2 billion, ranking him as the world’s fourth richest person.
Since stepping down as Amazon CEO in 2021, Bezos has focused on ventures like space firm Blue Origin and philanthropic efforts through the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund—of which $2 billion has already been disbursed.
The day’s gains reflect renewed investor enthusiasm in the tech sector, especially around artificial intelligence. Tesla’s growing AI initiatives and Amazon’s cloud innovations have fueled confidence, underscoring how the personal fortunes of their founders continue to rise and fall with the tech market’s momentum.
