Elon Musk now richest person in world

Elon Musk became the richest person in the world, with a net worth of more than $185 billion, CNBC reported in its Thursday story titled Elon Musk is Now the Richest Person in the World, Passing Jeff Bezos.

Thursday's increase in Tesla's share price helped Musk overtake Jeff Bezos, who had been the richest person since 2017 and is currently worth about $184 billion. Tesla's shares closed Thursday at $816.04, up nearly 8 percent. The company's market value has grown to more than $760 billion, according to CNBC.

Musk's wealth surge over the past year marks the fastest rise to the top of the rich list in history, and is a dramatic financial turnaround for the famed entrepreneur, the story wrote.

CNBC found Musk started 2020 worth about $27 billion, and was barely in the top 50 richest people. Tesla's rocketing share price — which has increased more than ninefold over the past year — along with his generous pay package have added more than $150 billion to his net worth.

Elon Musk passed Warren Buffett in July to become the seventh-richest person. In November, Musk raced ahead of Bill Gates to become the second-richest person. Musk has gained more wealth over the past 12 months than Bill Gates' entire net worth of $132 billion, the story added.