Elon Musk Nearly $14 Billion Richer This Week After Tesla Was Admitted To The S&P 500

THE CHANGING FORTUNES OF THE WORLD’S RICHEST

t’s been a very good week for Elon Musk. Not only did his SpaceX successfully send four NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in its first operational mission on Sunday, but S&P Global announced on Tuesday that Tesla would be admitted to the S&P 500 index. Tesla, which had been snubbed by the index earlier this year, will be added to the S&P 500 by December 21.

The stock skyrocketed, ending the week up nearly 20% as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. As of market close Friday, Musk had a net worth of $104.5 billion, up $13.7 billion from the week prior.

There may be more gains to come for Tesla. Mutual funds tied to the S&P 500 will want to incorporate Tesla into their portfolios, according to Arjun Menon, vice president of U.S. equity strategy at Goldman Sachs, potentially bringing in $8 billion in new investments.

Tesla was not the only electric vehicle stock to spike this week. Xpeng, a Chinese electric automaker founded by billionaire He Xiaopeng, announced sophisticated new autonomous driving software on Friday. The company, which has already reported record sales in China in September and October, was up 28% for the week. Xiaopeng now has a net worth of $10.6 billion, a weekly increase of $2.4 billion.

LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault added $6.5 billion to his net worth. The luxury goods giant, which counts Dior and Givenchy among its brands, has been buoyed by the positive results reported by vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna on the hopes that Chinese tourists will return to fashion capitals like Paris and Milan in pre-pandemic numbers. With international tourism ensnared by the virus, Bain & Company reports that spending on luxury items by Chinese customers will be down by one-third for the year. Arnault, the second-richest person in the world, has a net worth of $140.3 billion.

SUN VALLEY, ID – JULY 14: Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, attends the fourth day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 14, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Every July, some of the world’s most wealthy and powerful businesspeople from the media, finance, technology and political spheres converge at the Sun Valley Resort for the exclusive weeklong conference. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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On the more casual side of retail, Nike founder Phil Knight also had a good week. Nike announced on Friday that it will increase its dividend by 12% thanks to strong sales. Shares of the sneaker and athleisure maker were up 3.7% for the week, and 32 % for the year, as the pandemic has kept people home in leggings and sweatshirts instead of office wear. Knight, who is now worth $50.2 billion, added $1.5 billion to his net worth this week.