Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) and Twitter, lost his title as richest person in the world on Dec. 13, 2022.
A big drop in the electric vehicle company's stock during the year was mostly to blame.
Stocks were down in general last year, and the impact of that reality adversely affected the net worth of many of the world's richest billionaires.
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The world's richest person became Bernard Arnault, the French businessman who serves as CEO of luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMUY) .
Musk's fortune dropped by about $100 billion in 2022, compared to a decline in wealth for Arnault of a comparatively small $7 billion.
But now Musk looks poised to reclaim the title of the globe's most wealthy as Tesla's stock value has doubled year-to-date to about $216 per share.
"Elon Musk is very close to regaining his position as the richest person in the world," tweeted @StockMKTNewz on Feb. 16.
Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings report cited a gross profit margin of 23.8%, which was short of estimates of 25.4%.
But Musk was upbeat on the earnings call Jan. 25, saying orders for January were as strong as ever and were twice the rate of global production.
"If it's a smooth year, actually, without some big supply chain interruption or massive problem, we actually have the potential to do two million cars this year," he said. "We're not committing to that, but I'm just saying that's the potential."
As of Feb. 15, Arnault, who many call the lord of luxury, sits atop the Bloomberg Billionaires Index at a net worth of $192 billion. Musk is number two with $191 billion.
"As the billionaire CEO of @LVMH, Arnault sells items no one actually needs," tweeted @polina_mariova on Jan. 5. "But with a roster of more than 70 brands including Fendi, Bulgari, Dom Pérignon, and Givenchy, he's built the world’s largest and most successful purveyor of luxury goods."
