Elon Musk may soon become the richest automotive titan in the world.
The Tesla Motors founder has a fortune that tripled in the last year to $8.4 billion, with a stock increase of 625%.
Most of his wealth (2/3) comes from his electric car; the rest can be traced to SolarCity, the solar panel designer and installer run by his cousin Lyndon Rive, as well as his spacecraft-maker SpaceX, which is reportedly worth more than $4 billion.
He is bested as the richest automotive company owner only by the Quandt family of Johanna and Stefan Quandt and Susanne Klatten, of whom own almost a 50% stake in BMW after inheriting the wealth from their late husband and father Herbert Quandt; they are worth $12.8 billion, $14.9 billion and $17.4 billion, respectively.
Rounding out Forbes’ billionaires list are Wei Jianjun ($6.9 billion), chairman of Great Wall Motor; Wang Chuanfu ($4.3 billion), chairman of BYD; Chung Mong-Koo ($6.8 billion), chairman of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor; Bruce Halle, the 83-year-old founder of the Discount Tire store chain ($5 billion); Luo Jye, the chairman of Chen Shin Rubber ($4.4 billion); Shahid Khan, founder of Chicago-based Flex-N-Gate.
To see the full Los Angeles list, click here.
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