Zuckerberg beats Elon Musk, becomes World third richest man

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO Meta Platforms Inc., has beaten Elon Musk, X owner, on Friday, to become third richest billionaire on earth, for the first time since 2020.

Musk, who was the wealthiest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as recently as early March, amid Tesla challenges.

Zuckerberg has added $58.9 billion to his fortune as Meta Platforms Inc. climbed to fresh highs, including a new record on Friday, while Tesla owner’s wealth has shrunk by $48.4 billion this year.

This rise on Friday was the first time Zuckerberg has broken into the top three on Bloomberg’s ranking of the richest people since November 16, 2020. According to Bloomberg.

That period the Facebook and Instagram owner was worth $105.6 billion, while his X rival billionaire’s fortune was put at $102.1 billion.

Currently, Zuckerberg’s net worth is $186.9 billion and that of
Musk is $180.6 billion.

The reversal of the wealth gap between Musk and Zuckerberg, which was as big as $215 billion in November 2021, signified how once-hot electric vehicle stocks have been usurped by big tech, and particularly anything involving artificial intelligence.

Tesla shares have fallen 34% this year, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 Index. It’s been battered by a global slowdown in EV demand, growing competition in China and production problems in Germany.

Meta, meanwhile, has increased 49% thanks to strong quarterly earnings and excitement about the company’s AI initiatives. It’s the fifth-best performer on the S&P 500.

Battle of the two billionaires’ competition extends beyond their wealth, as Musk and Zuckerberg have been involved in an ongoing public spat that intensified when Meta launched Threads, a social-media platform that competes with Musk’s X.

Last year, the two even sparred about the possibility of a cage fight. Musk, 52, lately revived the idea on X, saying he would fight Zuckerberg, 39, “anywhere, anytime.”

To set the record straight, Bernard Arnault, the chairman of luxury giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos hold the first and second spots on Bloomberg’s richest billionaires’ ranking with fortunes of $223.4 billion and $207.3 billion, respectively.