According to Forbes, Musk is now about US$5 billion ahead of Bezos; towards the end of 2020, he had overtaken Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and French conglomerate LVMH’s Bernard Arnault and eventually Bezos, to reach his current position. 

Tesla's share price had skyrocketed in 2020, rising to more than 720 per cent and being the main contributor in Musk's growing fortune. Forbes reported that Tesla’s stocks gained another 20 per cent within the first week of 2021.

Musk had tweeted “How strange,” after reports of his updated net worth were published. He later added: “Well, back to work.”

(Related: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Beats His Own Record To Become The Richest Person Alive)

The tech CEO has famously said he has very little interest in material objects.

“About half my money is intended to help problems on Earth, and half to help establish a self-sustaining city on Mars to ensure continuation of life (of all species) in case Earth gets hit by a meteor like the dinosaurs or WW3 happens and we destroy ourselves,” Musk said in an old tweet.

Although electric vehicle sector is booming, especially with new players such as Nio and Xpeng from China, Tesla continues to dominate the market—and this is evident in the fact that Musk’s worth rose so rapidly in just one year.

(Related: Haidilao's Billionaire Founder Zhang Yong Tops Forbes Singapore’s Richest List Again in 2020)