JAKARTA - Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter again received the status of the richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Thursday, June 1.
Musk's fortune jumped 40.3 percent this year to 192 billion US dollars (approximately IDR 2.84 quadrillion), thanks to Tesla's share value which rose 24 percent in May.
Musk, quoted from Anadolu via Antara, Friday, June 2, won the position of French luxury fashion brand boss Louis Vuitton LVMH, Bernard Arnault, who is now in second place.
In December 2022, Arnault had shifted Musk and became the richest person in the world. However, Arnault's position has now been shifted again by Musk and is in second place with a net worth of USD 187 billion (IDR 2.77 quadrillion).
Musk, 51, owns nearly 14 percent of Tesla's shares and more than 40 percent of SpaceX's shares, while Arnault owns about 60 percent of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 59, is in third place with a fortune of 144 billion US dollars (Rp2.13 quadrillion). Musk's surge in wealth was released following his important visit to China which ended on Thursday.
His private jet took off from Shanghai's Hongqiao airport this morning to Austin, Texas, where Tesla's global headquarters are located.
During a two-day visit to China, the US billionaire met with China's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Industry to discuss Tesla's development.
Musk, who flew to Beijing for his first visit since 2020, also met with the main Contemporary Amperex Technology battery supplier, and visited Tesla's plant in Shanghai.
The visit was carried out following the increasing competition that Tesla is currently facing with electric vehicles made in China. A number of reports say that the condition caused uncertainty regarding Tesla's planned expansion in Shanghai.
"(China's Ministry of Industry Jin Zhuanglong and Musk) exchanged views on the development of new energy vehicles and smart networks," the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on its website.
He also discussed Tesla's development in China and "smart network" vehicles with Trade Minister Wang Wentao.
Musk, who visited China after three years, has more avoided the media spotlight, except for several photo sessions and official statements about his meeting with Chinese ministers.
However, the Twitter owner has yet to make a public statement about his meeting with a number of Chinese officials.
Photos of his visit to his company's plant in Shanghai on Wednesday night showed Musk holding the sign of "Giga Shanghai", flanked by hundreds of staff including global manufacturing chief Tom Zhu.
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