Musk Eclipses Bill Gates Becoming the Second Richest Man in the World

Elon Musk has overtaken Microsoft founder Bill Gates and is now the second-richest person on the planet, with a fortune of 127.9 billion dollars, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index published on Monday.

Thanks to shares in electric car maker Tesla climbing by 6.5 per cent, Musk's fortune rose by 7.2 billion dollars in a single day to a total 127.9 billion dollars. Since the beginning of the year, the 49-year-old's fortune has already increased by 100.3 billion dollars.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world's richest people. Details about the calculations are provided in the net worth analysis on each billionaire's profile page.

With a fortune of an estimated 182 billion dollars, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos currently tops the index.

Meanwhile Gates recently made it to 127.7 billion dollars in Bloomberg's list of the super-rich. His fortune would be significantly higher if he didn't donate so much money.

Rich lists like the Bloomberg Billionaires Index use estimates based on publicly available information on assets such as stocks, real estate, art objects and other luxury goods. On the Forbes Billionaires List, Musk ranks fourth with a fortune of 110.5 billion dollars.