Elon Musk’s net worth has skyrocketed in recent months to a whopping $400 billion – making him the richest man in the world.
A recent deal struck by his multi-billion pound company SpaceX has seen Musk solidify his position as the world’s richest man, according to Bloomberg.
In the last month, Musk’s net worth has reportedly increased by $136 billion after SpaceX and its investors agreed to purchase as much as $1.25 billion of insider shares.
The company has been ranked as the most valuable private startup business on the planet.
The American’s AI business, xAI, also enjoyed a particularly successful November thanks to a new funding round, with the company now worth a reported $50 billion, say the Wall Street Journal.
A significant driver behind Musk’s recent incredible surge in wealth is his alliance with Donald Trump during the 2024 Presidential Election, and going on to be handed a job in Trump’s government in his new efficiency department.
Another of Musk’s companies, Tesla has seen what’s being described as a ‘Trump bump’ after the Republican defeated Kamala Harris. The company’s shares are thought to have climbed by more than 50% since election day.
Musk’s incredible success of late has seen him become more than $140 billion richer than the world’s second wealthiest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
According to Forbes, Bezos is worth a reported $243 billion.
Sitting in third place in Forbes’ list of the world’s richest men is CEO of software giant Oracle, Larry Ellison, who is worth $223.4 billion.
Mark Zuckerburg and Bernard Arnault occupy the fourth and fifth positions, with riches of $218.6 billion and $171.5 billion respectively.
But how do 2024’s richest businessmen compare to the wealthiest people in history?
Here’s the top five, according to Money Inc.
Founder of the Standard Oil Company, John Rockefeller is one of the richest men in history, according to Money Incorporated.
Alive between 1839 and 1937, the American was worth a reported $674 billion at his wealthiest thanks to his business endeavours.
He first invested in the oil industry in 1865 – by 1880, his company controlled 90% of oil production in America.
The creator of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan was worth a staggering $2.1 trillion.
Khan was the wealthiest emperor of the early 1100s and 1200s and owned stones and diamonds worth trillions as well as an astounding 270,000 horses valued at $13 billion.
The Mongol Empire was too worth trillions, with much of Khan’s wealth earned through his acquisition of land.
Countries such as China, Syria, Korea, Russia and even the Middle East were ruled by Khan.
Akbar is responsible for the building of India’s famous Taj Mahal in the 1500s.
Ruler of India through the Mughal Empire, Akbar was worth a reported $3.8 trillion in today’s economics.
At the time, his Empire was accountable to one-fourth of the global GDP.
Emperor Shenzong was the leader of the Chinese Empire from 1048-1085 – he was worth approximately $4 trillion.
His wealth derived from tax collection and technological innovations, with historians arguing that Chinese technology during this period was far ahead of that in Europe.
The Chinese government during Shenzong’s time was centralised, meaning the Emperor was afforded huge economic power.
Mansa Musa, the former king of Mali, is believed to be the richest man in history with his wealth described as ‘incomprehensible.’
The former King ruled in Mali. a country which was hugely wealthy in land, salt and gold, between 1280 and 1337.
Mali was, in fact, during that period the largest gold producer in the world.
The African ruler was famous for making the most extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca of all time, accompanied by around 60,000 men.
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