New Delhi: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has returned as the world’s richest man, recapturing the title from French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault. Musk earned an additional $95.4 billion by the end of December, boosted by the success of Tesla and SpaceX, after losing $138 billion in 2022, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His net worth now exceeds Arnault’s by more than $50 billion after LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE shares fell due to a global slowdown in demand for luxury products. As per the Index, Musk’s net worth is now estimated to be $232 billion.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos added more than $70 billion to his wallet this year and is now neck-and-neck with Arnault for second place, while Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune increased by more than $80 billion.

Arnault is the second richest in the world with a net worth of $179 billion, followed by Bezos ($178 billion), Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ($141 billion), ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer ($131 billion), and Zuckerberg ($130 billion). According to the Index, the collective net worth of the 500 richest persons increased by $1.5 trillion in 2023, entirely recovering from the $1.4 trillion lost the previous year.

The wealth of tech billionaires increased by 48 per cent, or $658 billion, because of the enormous buzz around artificial intelligence.