Elon Musk Joins an Elite Club

MacKenzie Scott may just become the world's richest woman after all. Her ex-husband, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, should be celebrating, too. Bezos' wealth topped $200 billion on Wednesday as shares in the e-commerce giant hit a record. As Bloomberg reports, the climb brings Scott "to the brink of becoming the world's richest woman, just behind L'Oreal SA heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers." Scott's wealth is valued at $66.2 billion, while Bettencourt Meyers' fortune is $66.7 billion. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk—who's gained $73.6 billion this year, just shy of Bezos' $87.1 billion—is now worth $101 billion, making him one of four centibillionaires in the world.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, who also became a centribillionaire this year, saw his wealth climb by $8.5 billion on Wednesday alone. He's at $115 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, while Bill Gates is at $124 billion. The world's 500 richest people have gained $890 billion since January, a 14% increase spurred in large part by tech stocks, per Bloomberg. Tesla's stock has climbed 400% this year, reports Business Insider, noting Musk held more than 40 million shares as of June. A stock surge came Wednesday amid progress on coronavirus vaccine trials and indications that the Federal Reverse would keep short-term interest rates low, per MarketWatch. (Those indications proved true.)