Elon Musk becomes 'richest person to ever walk the planet' after huge deal

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Musk is going to need a bigger wallet

After a landmark deal between rental car company Hertz and Tesla, Elon Musk's net worth has skyrocketed, earning him the title of 'richest person to ever walk the planet'. Hertz confirmed its acquisition of 100,000 Tesla Model 3, which consequently catapulted Tesla's share price and with it, Musk's net worth. The resulting boom on the stock market raked in $25.6bn (US). Musk's 21 per cent stake in the company means that his personal net worth has also boomed, now sitting at $225.2bn, reports Forbes. "[It's] the richest he's ever been, and likely the richest person to ever walk the planet," writes Forbes' Eliza Haverstock. Haverstock continued: "He's richer than any billionaire Forbes has ever tracked." After former Amazon CEO and space fanatic Jeff Bezos dropped to a net worth of $193bn, Musk is now a solitary ruler in the $200 billion and more club. The historic $4.2bn deal has created a 13 per cent rise in share price for Tesla, resulting in its ascension to the trillion-dollar winner's circle alongside Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. As per the Forbes real-time Billionaires List, the uber-rich club includes the likes of Bezos, luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault, Microsoft pioneer Bill Gates and Oracle wiz Larry Ellison. Last week it was discovered that Musk now has a bigger personal wealth than Gates and renowned entrepreneur Warren Buffet combined. Though the scandalously rich are almost always labelled as selfish, albeit for valid reasons, Buffet recently donated $4.1bn to charity. He has also famously agreed to donate 99 per cent of his wealth upon his death, whereas the likes of Bezos and Musk seem more concerned with getting off the planet.