NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – Elon Musk’s personal fortune jumped by almost US$29 billion (S$39 billion) to US$281 billion after Hertz Global Holdings placed an order for 100,000 Teslas and filings showed a fresh tranche of options in his moonshot pay package vested.
It’s among the biggest one-day gains in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, second only to Chinese tycoon Zhong Shanshan’s US$32 billion surge last year on the day his bottled-water company, Nongfu Spring, went public.
Tesla shares rose as much as 9.8 per cent Monday (Oct 25) on news of the Hertz order, briefly pushing its market value past US$1 trillion.
About two-thirds of Musk’s net worth is tied directly to shares and options in the electric-car company, of which he is co-founder and chief executive officer.
Musk is increasingly pulling away from his fellow mega-billionaires when it comes to the size of his fortune.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ranks second with US$193 billion, according to the Bloomberg index.
Even before the Hertz deal, Tesla shares have climbed in recent weeks. The auto maker’s stock price is up more 40 per cent this year, almost double the gain of the S&P 500 Index, as investors continue to reward green technologies.
A surge in Tesla stock isn’t the only source of wealth gains for Musk.
The seventh tranche of Musk’s massive 2018 stock option package vested in the third quarter, according to a regulatory filing Monday, adding about US$8 billion to his net worth.