Elon Musk Becomes Richest Person In The World; Offers Consolation Prize To Runner-Up Jeff Bezos

Written by Paul Sacca on updated
Elon Musk became the third person ever to amass a fortune worth $200 billion, according to Forbes, surpassing Amazon founder and rival space billionaire Jeff Bezos in the process. Reached for comment by Forbes, Musk took a celebratory crack at Bezos. “I’m sending a giant statue of the digit ‘2’ to Jeffrey B., along with a silver medal,” Musk wrote in a short email.

Elon Musk became the richest person in the world this week, surpassing Jeff Bezos. To mark the financial achievement, Musk offered to send a consolation prize to Bezos, who is now the second wealthiest person on the planet.

Musk became the third person to ever amass a net worth of $200 billion on Monday, according to Forbes. Bezos was the first person to reach the $200 billion milestone back in August 2020, then again in October 2020, and most recently in April 2021. Bernard Arnault – the CEO of French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy that boasts a stable of iconic opulent brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, and Givenchy – reached the elite $200 billion fortune club in August 2021.

After Musk shot past Bezos on the list of wealthiest people, Forbes asked the eccentric Musk about dethroning the Amazon founder. The Tesla CEO offered to send his rival space billionaire a large reminder that he was the wealthiest person in the world.

“I’m sending a giant statue of the digit ‘2’ to Jeffrey B., along with a silver medal,” Musk told Forbes.

A spokesperson for Bezos did not reply to a request for comment by the outlet.

On July 5, 2021, Jeff Bezos stepped down as Amazon’s CEO exactly 27 years after he started the e-commerce giant in a garage in West Bellevue, Washington.

Musk and Bezos have jockeyed positions for the top dog on Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List multiple times this year after Amazon and Tesla stocks have surged.

The two billionaires have had a long-running rivalry, especially when it comes to space exploration, which includes a dogfight between Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin.

In April, NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to construct a lunar landing system to take astronauts to the moon.

The space agency passed on a $5.9 billion bid from Blue Origin. In mid-August, Bezos’ Blue Origin launched a lawsuit against NASA for awarding the contract to SpaceX.

Elon Musk mocked Bezos and his lawsuit on Tuesday during an appearance at Vox Media’s annual Code Conference, “You cannot sue your way to the moon, OK” No matter how good your lawyers are.”

“I think he should put more of his energy into getting to orbit than lawsuits,” Musk poked fun of the Amazon founder.

https://twitter.com/voxmedia/status/1443016081547816962