Tesla’s chief’s fortunes increased mostly, however, after he elected Joe Biden as president.
Yichuan Cao / NurPhoto through Getty Images
America’s first billionaire president was kind to American billionaires, whose fortunes rose largely as the stock market climbed. No billionaire has done better than Tesla cofounder and CEO Elon Musk. From the time Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2017 until the end of his term on January 19, 2021, Musk’s net worth has totaled over $ 170 billion, Forbes calculation.
Shares of Musk electric vehicle maker Tesla have risen 1,625% over the past four years, far outpacing the broader stock market. (During that time, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones business averages got around 70% and 60%, respectively.)
Musk’s fortunes have grown at an unprecedented rate. The day Trump took office, Musk had a net worth of $ 12.9 billion. He is now the second richest man in the world, with a net worth of $ 184 billion, according to Forbesestimates.
The billionaire Tesla is now just $ 6 billion behind the current richest person on the planet, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who is worth $ 190 billion. The two billionaires have spent many of their last few weeks competing for the title of richest person in the world. Musk first took first place from Bezos on January 8, 2021, before being reinstated by Amazon billionaire, Forbes calculation.
Musk and Trump have had a complex relationship since 2016. Musk first attended two of Trump’s advisory councils, advocating for environmental sustainability. When Trump announced to the world in 2017 that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, however, Musk decided to stop. “Climate change is real,” he said said at the time, saying, “leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.”
Trump has recently praised Musk, in January calling him one of America’s “best genes.” While Trump supported the steps taken by the Musk rocket company, SpaceX, his commitment to electric vehicles has warmed up (a significant portion of Trump’s campaign support came from major oil and gas interests) .
Not that Musk’s gains were directly made by Trump. Over the past four years, Tesla has outperformed investors by introducing new vehicles, increasing delivery and surpassing analyst expectations. Moreover, most of Musk’s gains at Trump’s presidency came after President Joe Biden was elected in late 2020 and Democrats reinstated the Senate. With Biden backed by a Democratic Congress that tends to support its climate change agenda, investors are hopping on the green tech bandwagon. Tesla shares have risen more than 100% over the past three months, reflecting expectations that investors expect Biden’s administration to be more vehicle-friendly.
Following an initial snub, Tesla was added to the S&P 500 Index on December 21 last year, a move that further raised the price of its stock. Being the world’s most valuable automaker, Tesla made half a million cars in 2020 – a fraction of the production of global giants like GM and Toyota.