1995 Penn graduate Elon Musk fell to No. 2 on Forbes' "World's Billionaire List" (Photo by Steve Jurvetson | CC BY 2.0).
Elon Musk — a 1997 Penn graduate and an owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter — has lost his top spot on Forbes' "World's Billionaire List," falling to No. 2.
Musk’s net worth has fallen by $39 billion since last year. Central to Musk’s change in wealth is his purchase of Twitter. Musk first offered to buy Twitter in April and finally acquired Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion.
Musk used Tesla shares to finance his acquisition of Twitter, which scared investors into pulling out and sinking Tesla's stock by 50%, CNN reported.
Before Musk made the Forbes's list, he graduated from Wharton and the College with a dual degree in economics and physics. He was also a Residential Advisor in Riepe College House and was described by his college ex-girlfriend Jennifer Gwynne as a “chill” RA who did not intervene heavily in student affairs.
Following Gwynne auctioning off items related to her relationship with Musk at Penn in September 2022, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported on Musk's time at Penn.
“Is it surprising that he is the richest man in the world? Anyone would be surprised. Surprising that he would be successful? No," Brian Wong, a 1995 Engineering graduate and fellow Quad RA, told the DP. "However, it is kind of surreal seeing him be a friend who I used to play DOOM with to moving stock markets with a single tweet. It is an amazing journey."
Currently, the world’s richest person is Bernard Arnault, who derives much of his $211 billion fortune from overseeing luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany & Co for LVMH.
Arnault’s wealth has increased dramatically in the past year — shares of his umbrella company controlling luxury brands have trended upwards by 25%. Other billionaires on the Forbes list after Musk include Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates. They each have a net worth of $114 billion, $107 billion, $106 billion, and $104 billion, respectively.
Musk’s position on the list has fluctuated in the past. He fell from the number one spot in December 2022 and subsequently regained the position in late February 2023 before this most recent dip.
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