(CNN Business) -
Elon Musk overtook Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and now holds the title of the world's richest person, according to Bloomberg.
A 6% rise in Tesla shares early Thursday raised the value of its CEO's shares and options by $ 10 billion.
This brings his net worth to approximately $ 191 billion.
A more modest increase of less than 2% raised Bezos' shares in Amazon by roughly $ 3 billion, bringing his net worth to $ 187 billion.
Bloomberg's real-time billionaire monitor still has Bezos ahead of Musk at about $ 3 billion.
But the monitor is not updated until the end of the trading day in the market.
Bloomberg published an article confirming Musk's title.
Bill Gates is now a distant third with $ 132 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Forbes' real-time monitor still shows Musk and Bezos $ 18 billion apart at the close of business on Wednesday, after Bezos lost $ 4.3 billion in the value of his Amazon shares.
Although the overall market took a steep rise Wednesday, stocks in big tech, including Amazon, fell on concerns that Democratic control of the Senate could mean increased scrutiny and regulation of the industry.
Another gain in Tesla shares on Wednesday raised Musk's net worth by $ 4.1 billion to $ 165.4 billion, according to Forbes calculations.
But Forbes does not appear to be giving Musk credit for the value of the options he received in 2020 to buy an additional 33.6 million shares of Tesla.
advertising
Elon Musk is also the largest shareholder and CEO of SpaceX.
However, SpaceX is privately owned, so its value does not fluctuate as much as Tesla's.
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos earnings in 2020
Bezos' stake in Amazon shares increased by $ 75 billion in 2020, to $ 173.3 billion, given the huge increase in sales fueled by the covid-19 pandemic.
READ: Jeff Bezos names a huge rocket recovery ship in honor of his mother
But that was nothing compared to Musk's shares in Tesla.
The 170 million Tesla shares he already owns increased in value by $ 106 billion during 2020. The shares grew 743% over the course of the year.
The value of the stock options he had at the beginning of the year increased by $ 14.2 billion, while the new options he received during the course of the year as part of his salary package were worth $ 21.5 billion at the end of the year. .
Musk earned Gates the title of the second richest person in the world in late November, but Tesla shares have risen in value by 45% since then.
This raised Musk's net worth by $ 53 billion in the past two months.
Tesla shares started the year well
Tesla shares are off to a good start to 2021. Since the beginning of the year, including Thursday morning earnings, they have risen more than $ 90 a share, or 13%.
That has raised Musk's Tesla shares and options by about $ 21 billion this year.
Meanwhile, Amazon shares were down slightly for the year through Thursday morning.
Elon Musk is ready to qualify for options to buy another 16.9 million shares of Tesla earlier this year, according to company documents.
Those options would be worth $ 12.3 billion at the current value of the stock, after taking the exercise price into account.
LOOK: Tesla will land in India in 2021
Bezos has no options on Amazon shares, only with the 53.2 million shares he owns as the founder of the company.
He would have had more if he had not given 19.7 million shares to his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, in their divorce.
Bezos has also sold or given away stock as part of his charitable donations.
Musk has never parted with any Tesla stock.
Bezos isn't the only one Elon Musk reached on Thursday.
ExxonMobil, America's most valuable oil company, had a market value as of noon Thursday of just under $ 191 billion.
Musk, a leading proponent of moving from gasoline and diesel vehicles to electric vehicles, currently has more wealth than the nation's largest oil company.
BloombergElon MuskJeff Bezos