While Elon Musk Has Been At The Center Of Trump's Presidency In The First Three Weeks, Data Shows His Rivals Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg And Others Benefited More Since The Inauguration: Here's More
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest person with a net worth of $412 billion, is at the center of criticism amid a potential conflict of interest as he takes on the role of head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
What Happened: DOGE was introduced by Donald Trump, with Musk leading the department alongside other big names from the tech industry such as Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape, and Travis Kalanick, the co-founder of Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) among others.
With DOGE, Musk aims to reduce $2 trillion in federal spending by 2026, which is aimed at reducing the federal deficit.
So far, DOGE has announced several measures, including shutting down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has drawn sharp criticism from the Democrats, who have termed the move as "illegal".
Musk's aides appointed to oversee the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have reportedly restricted access of career civil servants to computer systems containing the personal data of millions of federal employees.
While critics have said Musk stands to gain from DOGE, data has thrown up a surprising twist.
Here Are The World's Top Five Billionaires
Name
Total net worth
Elon Musk
$412 billion
Jeff Bezos
$257 billion
Mark Zuckerberg
$251 billion
Larry Ellison
$197 billion
Bernard Arnault
$193 billion
Musk leads the list of world's billionaires, with a net worth of $412 billion on Feb. 6 as per the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Here's What The Data Shows: Here are the top gainers among the world's richest in the first three weeks of the Trump administration.
Name
Net Worth on Jan. 18
Net Worth on Feb. 6
Change
Mark Zuckerberg
$217 billion
$251 billion
$34 billion
Jeff Bezos
$245 billion
$257 billion
$12 billion
Thomas Peterffy
$57.1 billion
$68.1 billion
$11 billion
Jim Walton
$114 billion
$125 billion
$11 billion
Alice Walton
$111 billion
$122 billion
$11 billion
On the other hand, Musk's net worth has decreased from $449 billion on Jan. 18 to $412 billion on Feb. 6, a decline of $37 billion, marking the highest decline in net worth among the world's richest.
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Posted-In: Alice Walton Department Of Government Efficiency Doge Donald Trump Elon MuskNews Politics Tech
