Elon Musk has strengthened his position as the world’s richest person after his fortune surged by an estimated $202 billion in August to $892 billion, according to Forbes.
The increase came after Musk suffered a $363 billion decline in his fortune in July, with the latest rebound driven largely by gains in the value of his stakes in SpaceX and Tesla.
Despite the sharp fluctuations in his wealth, Musk remains comfortably ahead of other billionaires on the global rich list.
Forbes estimates that Musk is now less than $110 billion away from becoming a trillionaire again, after he became the first person in history to reach the milestone earlier this year.
As of Tuesday, Forbes ranked the world’s 10 richest people as follows:
- Elon Musk — $892 billion
- Larry Page — $277 billion
- Jeff Bezos — $268 billion
- Sergey Brin — $256 billion
- Michael Dell — $241 billion
- Mark Zuckerberg — $197 billion
- Larry Ellison — $193 billion
- Jensen Huang — $191 billion
- Steve Ballmer — $155 billion
- Amancio Ortega — $148 billion
Musk’s lead over his closest rival remains significant, with his estimated fortune more than three times that of Larry Page, the Google co-founder and second-richest person in the world.
Page was the biggest loser among the top 10 billionaires in August, with his fortune falling by about $15 billion. Jeff Bezos and Sergey Brin also recorded declines of approximately $10 billion and $13 billion, respectively.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison recorded the biggest gain after Musk, adding $25 billion to his fortune as Oracle shares rose by 15 per cent.
The increase pushed Ellison from eighth to seventh position, while Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang moved down to eighth despite adding $17 billion to his fortune.
At the lower end of the top 10, former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer climbed from 11th to ninth after gaining $10 billion.
Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, founder of the fashion empire behind Zara, also entered the top 10, rising from 12th to 10th after adding $5 billion to his fortune.
Longtime members of the global wealth rankings, Bernard Arnault and Warren Buffett, dropped out of the top 10 following declines in the value of their holdings in LVMH and Berkshire Hathaway.
Collectively, the world’s 10 richest people are estimated to be worth $2.8 trillion, up from $2.6 trillion the previous month.
Forbes has tracked the world’s billionaires since 1987, while its Real-Time Billionaires ranking fluctuates with changes in stock prices and other asset values.
The latest ranking is dominated by Americans, with nine of the 10 richest people being from the United States and Ortega the only Spaniard in the group.