I noticed an interesting statistic about the world’s billionaires that is quite revealing. Elon Musk currently holds the top spot on the list with personal net worth of about $348 billion. This is simply a huge gap from everyone else—$129 billion more than Bezos, and $142 billion ahead of Ellison.

Most interestingly, among the 500 largest billionaires in the world, Musk showed the largest increase since the beginning of the year, up by $119 billion. For comparison, Ellison’s increase was up $83 billion—almost $36 billion less. This didn’t happen by chance.

It’s all because Musk’s net worth grew thanks to two main drivers. First, it’s Tesla. In early November, the company’s shares were worth $248, and then over the course of a week they jumped by more than 43 percent. Over the year, the shares rose by 42 percent. Of course, they are still below the $411 peak in 2021, so there is room for further upside.

Second, it’s xAI. The startup that Musk founded in 2023 specializes in artificial intelligence. The company’s valuation over the past six months jumped from $24 billion to $50 billion after the most recent funding round. Just wow.

So, Musk’s record net worth is the result of the fact that his projects truly work and attract investors. It’s interesting to watch how these companies will develop further.