Elon Musk Is $11.5 Billion Richer This Week As Tech Stocks Soar

THE CHANGING FORTUNES OF THE WORLD’S RICHEST

ollowing strong earnings reports and bullish new takes from Wall Street analysts, tech stocks soared this week, padding the fortunes of world’s richest. The top ten gainers added a combined $74 billion to their net worths.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was the week’s biggest gainer with $11.5 billion. Tesla shares climbed 7.4% this week after Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter gave it a $1,200 price target, anticipating strong growth. Tesla outperformed strong showings by the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, which rose 4.6% and 3.9%, respectively.

Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page gained $10.4 billion and $10 billion, respectively, after a strong week for Google parent company, Alphabet. Alphabet’s stock jumped more than 14% this week after falling 3.4% last week. The company reported strong earnings on Tuesday, bolstered by a comeback in its digital advertising business, which took a serious hit during the pandemic.

Amazon gained 4.6% this week after last week’s 2.7% loss, and Jeff Bezos added $7.7 billion to his net worth, even after announcing on Tuesday that he would step down as CEO of the company later this year, after 26 years at the helm. Bezos is leaving on a high. Amazon’s stock has risen by more than 63% in the past year, as ecommerce boomed during the pandemic. At the end of 2020, Amazon had its biggest quarter ever, bringing in more than $125 billion in revenue. Bezos, who will focus on side companies like Blue Origin and The Washington Post, will become executive chair of Amazon’s board. Amazon Web Services chief Andy Jassy will replace him as CEO.

SHANGHAI, CHINA – JULY 26: Colin Huang Zheng, founder and CEO of Pinduoduo, speaks during the company’s listing ceremony at Shanghai Tower on July 26, 2018 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

VCG via Getty Images

Bezos was not the only ecommerce billionaire to have a positive week. Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang got $10.7 billion richer this week after the stock gained more than 18%. The discount ecommerce platform, whose shares trade on Nasdaq, is becoming increasingly popular in China, challenging the dominance of established giants like Alibaba and JD.com. With a net worth of $69.1 billion, Huang has more than quadrupled his fortune in the past year. He now ranks as the 16th richest person in the world, and the third richest man in China.

There are now four Chinese billionaires who rank in the top 20 richest people in the world. A year ago, there were only two — Tencent chair Ma Huateng and Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma. Huateng and Ma still rank in the top 20, at No. 15 and No. 20, respectively, and are now joined by Huang and No. 6 richest Zhong Shanshan, who had a stunning rise in 2020 thanks to the blockbuster IPO of his bottled water company, Nongfu Spring.