"The World's Richest Person is Musk"… Wealth Increases by 82 Trillion Won in One Year

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has become the world's richest person. His wealth has increased by more than 82 trillion Korean won in just one year.

On the 5th (local time), Forbes, a U.S. economic media outlet, announced the "2022 World's Billionaires List," naming Musk as the world's richest person. As of the 11th of last month, Musk's net worth, calculated by combining stock prices and exchange rates, was estimated at $219 billion (approximately 265.54 trillion Korean won), making him the richest billionaire in the world. This is the first time Musk has topped Forbes' annual ranking.

Musk's wealth increased by more than $68 billion (about 82.45 trillion Korean won) over the past year, driven by a 33% rise in Tesla's stock price, making him the person with the largest wealth increase worldwide in one year.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and long-time world's richest man, dropped to second place due to divorce-related asset division, Amazon's stock price decline, and donations. His net worth was estimated at $171 billion.

Following them were Bernard Arnault, chairman of the French fashion group Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) with $158 billion, Microsoft (MS) founder Bill Gates with $129 billion, and Warren Buffett, known as the "Oracle of Omaha," with $118 billion, ranking third to fifth respectively.

Google co-founders Larry Page ($111 billion) and Sergey Brin ($107 billion) ranked sixth and seventh respectively. Oracle founder Larry Ellison ($106 billion) and former MS CEO Steve Ballmer ($91.4 billion) took eighth and ninth places.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India's Reliance Industries, ranked tenth. He is the only Asian to enter the top 10 in the global billionaire rankings.

Meanwhile, the number of billionaires worldwide with assets exceeding $1 billion this year was 2,668, a decrease of 87 from 2,755 last year. The combined assets of these billionaires totaled $12.7 trillion, down $400 billion from $13.1 trillion last year.