Elon Musk’s Wealth Soars As Billionaire Continues $1 Million Giveaway to ‘Trump Supporters’
- Elon Musk’s wealth has risen significantly following an overnight rise in his Tesla shares
- The billionaire recorded a $6.1 billion gain amid a $1 million giveaway to Trump supporters
- Meanwhile, Aliko Dangote suffered a loss of $35 million in net worth but remains Africa’s richest man
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Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
The world’s wealthiest man and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has seen his wealth surge by over $6 billion on the night Donald Trump reclaimed America's presidency.
The South African-born billionaire saw his wealth rise to $264 billion, placing him above his closest rivals, Jeff Bezos, with $221 billion and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, with $203 billion.
Source: Getty Images
Tesla stocks surge
Musk's wealth has surged significantly this year, rising by $34.8 billion amid a rise in Tesla shares.
According to reports, the electric car company’s stocks surged nearly nine per cent, hitting a 52-week high on the overnight trading platform Robinhood.
Tesla stocks traded at about $272 per share as Donald Trump cruised to victory in a keenly contested US election.
The development comes amid an announcement by Elon Musk that he was dolling out $1 million each to those who sign a petition by his PAC group to support free speech and gun rights.
Elon Musk embarks on a giveaway
The billionaire’s giveaway has been seen as an inducement to voters to support Trump following Musk’s endorsement.
There have been objections to the giveaway, which targets swing states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia and others.
However, Reuters reports that a Pennsylvania judge on Monday, October 4, 2024, allowed the $1 million giveaway to voters to proceed after testimony in which Musk’s aide said his political group selected the contest’s winners.
Kamala Harris’ camp has described the giveaway as an illegal lottery meant to induce voters unnecessarily.
Dangote remains strong amid $35m loss
Meanwhile, Nigeria and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has suffered a mild setback in his wealth.
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index data shows that Dangote lost about $34.5 million overnight. However, the loss did not affect the Nigerian mogul’s ranking, as he remains the world’s 64th wealthiest individual.
Dangote saw a surge in wealth in October after gaining over $15 billion in one day, catapulting him to the 64th position with $27.7 billion in net worth.
Dangote’s new position came after his mega refinery began producing PMS, also known as petrol.
The refinery has been touted as a significant disruption to the European and American energy markets.
Dangote gained over $12 billion in 2024 after the naira’s devaluation wiped off over $7 billion from his fortune.
Elon Musk leads list of 10 wealthiest men in the world in 2024
Legit.ng earlier reported that the combined net worth of the world's ten wealthiest billionaires has increased by $19.75 billion in a single day, bringing their total wealth to an impressive $1.56 trillion as of Saturday, August 31, 2024.
The increase was driven by gains across their various tech and consumer goods investments.
Data from the Bloomberg Index shows that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the head of X (formerly Twitter), remains the world's richest man with a net worth of $239 billion as of August 31, 2024.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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