Musk, an American citizen who hails from South Africa, entered the year with a net worth of $137 billion after he became the first person in history to lose $200 billion from his fortune, according to a report from Bloomberg. He finalized the acquisition of Twitter last year in a $44 billion transaction that some analysts deemed an overvaluation of the social media company.
Some Tesla investors were concerned that the Twitter acquisition would distract Musk from his duties at the automotive firm. The company nevertheless posted record financial performance in the fourth quarter of 2022. “We achieved the highest-ever quarterly revenue, operating income and net income in our history,” the company said in an earnings report. “As we progress into 2023, we know that there are questions about the near-term impact of an uncertain macroeconomic environment, and in particular, with rising interest rates. The Tesla team is used to challenges, given the culture required to get the company to where it is today.”
[I don’t think dropping to second or third place in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a great tragedy in the first place. But those who predicted doom for Musk in his Twitter acquisition clearly didn’t understand much about the intrinsic value of Tesla and SpaceX, along with Musk’s other holdings. Even if Twitter turns out to be a bust, Musk will be in the top twenty of this list for a long while to come. — Ed]
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