Tesla stock soared Monday after a stock split, lifting Elon Musk’s net worth to $102.9 billion at the market close. Shares jumped 12.6%, boosting Musk’s net worth by $10.4 billion since late Friday. Forbes calculates that he is now the fifth centibillionaire in the world, as well as the fifth-richest person in the world.
Musk’s net worth has quadrupled since mid-March, when he ranked No. 31 on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list, with a net worth of $24.6 billion. He’s now just behind Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, who is worth $107.6 billion.
Not that this matters to Musk. The 49-year-old serial entrepreneur said he’s indifferent to his standing on the Forbes list of billionaires. “I really couldn’t care less,” Musk emailed Forbes about his net worth in July. “These numbers rise and fall, but what really matters is making great products that people love.”
Musk’s fortune hit $99 billion on Thursday August 27, then dipped on Friday August 28 as the electric carmaker’s shares fell 3.6%. Tesla stock split on a 5-for-1 basis on Friday after the market closed and started trading on a split-adjusted basis Monday morning. Smaller traders have reportedly snapped up the lower-priced shares, which are now $498.32 versus Friday’s $2,213.40.
Musk owns 21% of the $464 billion (market cap) company but has pledged more than half his stake as collateral for personal loans; Forbes applies a discount to his pledged shares to account for the loans.
