Tesla’s crypto-friendly CEO is now the richest man in the world

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has surpassed the net worth of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

“Elon Musk has become the world's richest person, as his net worth crossed $185bn (£136bn),” the BBC reported on Thursday.

The futuristic businessman gained staggering wealth last year. “Musk started 2020 worth about $27 billion, and was barely in the top 50 richest people,” CNBC noted on Thursday, adding:

“Tesla’s rocketing share price — which has increased more than ninefold over the past year — along with his generous pay package have added more than $150 billion to his net worth.”

After the COVID-19 crash in March, Tesla found its stock priced near $70, based on TradingView.com data. By 2021, TSLA stock shares found their way up past $800 apiece, which also takes into account an Aug. 2020 share split.

Musk is also no stranger to the crypto industry, although he has not come forward as a major proponent of the asset class. “Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money,” the Tesla CEO said in a December 2020 Twitter post.

Musk owns just 0.25 Bitcoin (BTC), as of his most recently publicized comment on his holdings, noted in May 2020. He has also commented on Dogecoin (DOGE) at various points in the past, in a likely comedic fashion.

Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin bull, recently offered to help the tech visionary in picking up some BTC for Tesla.