The battle for the title of richest person in the world is getting a little tighter, with Tesla’s (TSLA) – Get Report Elon Musk, at No. 2, catching up to Amazon’s (AMZN) – Get Report Jeff Bezos.
Bezos’s wealth recently stood at $185.7 billion, down $1.9 billion, or 1.02%, from 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaire’s List. Musk’s fortune, meanwhile, stood at $168.4 billion, up $7 billion, or 4.34%, over the same amount of time.
Stock prices probably explain most of the moves. Amazon shares slid 2.6% Wednesday to $3,136.56 recently, while Tesla gained 2.8% to $755.93 on an analyst upgrade and optimism about the Georgia runoff elections for the electric car industry.
LVMH’s Bernard Arnault and his family are third on the Forbes list at $149 billion, while Microsoft (MSFT) – Get Report founder Bill Gates is fourth at $121.2 billion.
As for Tesla, Morningstar analyst David Whiston puts fair value at $306. “Tesla has a chance to be the dominant electric vehicle firm long-term and is a leading autonomous vehicle player as well as a vertically integrated sustainable energy company with energy generation and storage products,” he wrote in a commentary last month.
“But we do not see it having mass-market volume this decade,” Whiston noted. “Tesla’s product plans for now do not mean an electric vehicle for every consumer who wants one, because the prices are too high.”
Meanwhile, Morningstar analyst Zain Akbari puts Amazon’s fair value at $3,630. “Amazon’s disruption of the retail industry is well documented, but it continues to find ways to evolve,” he wrote in a report last month.
“Its operational efficiency, network effect, and a brand intangible asset give its marketplaces sustainable competitive advantages that few, if any, traditional retailers can match,” Akbari added. “The combination of competitive pricing, unparalleled logistics capabilities and speed, and high-level customer service makes Amazon an increasingly vital distribution channel for consumer brands.”
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