Jeff Bezos overtakes Elon Musk as world’s richest for the first time in three years as Amazon founder’s net worth tops $200billion while Tesla creator’s stumbles after $55.8billion compensation package was struck down by Delaware court

Jeff Bezos is back at the top as the world’s richest man for the first time in three years, while his worth is at $200 billion and former number 1 Elon Musk saw his total stumble.

Bezos, 60, topped the recent Bloomberg Billionaires Index for the first time since fall 2021, surpassing Musk, who is now worth $198 billion.

It comes after the Amazon founder sold a total of $4 billion worth of stock since mid-February, regulatory filings show.

At the same time, Tesla CEO and X Chairman Musk, 52, saw a right rule at the end of January to hand back the largest pay package in corporate history, $55 billion, following accusations of strong-arming Tesla executives by the CEO.

Bezos’ stock sales come after it was announced that he will establish his primary residence in Florida, taking advantage of the Sunshine State’s tax system.

Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon in 2021. His current title is executive chairman. In one week he has lost almost 25 million shares of the company. These are the first shares he has sold since leaving his role as CEO.

Earlier this month, Bezos said he would sell 50 million of his Amazon shares by 2025 through brokerage firm Morgan Stanley.

Despite the sales, Bezos is still Amazon’s largest shareholder, with nearly 10 percent of the company’s shares.

Since February 2023, Amazon’s shares have risen more than 50 percent, with the price nearing an all-time high. Its market capitalization is approximately $1.75 trillion.

Bezos retired from Amazon to devote more time to his other projects, including the rocket company Blue Origin and his philanthropy.

Bezos has also spent time chatting with fiancée Lauren Sanchez, as the two have been pictured in numerous hotspots.

While it’s unclear exactly when they started dating, Lauren and Jeff’s romance was first exposed by the National Enquirer in January 2019, while they were both married to other people.

Shortly after it was revealed, the 59-year-old billionaire Amazon founder divorced his wife of more than 25 years and mother of his four children, Mackenzie Scott, while Lauren left her husband, Endeavor Talent Agency co-founder Patrick Whitesell .

They got engaged in early 2023 and Lauren talked about the moment Jeff proposed to Vogue last month.

She recalled Jeff popping the question on his yacht after they enjoyed a romantic dinner together under the stars.

She said the mogul hid the huge diamond ring under her pillow and she nearly blacked out when she discovered it at the end of the night, just before they went to bed.

When asked about their upcoming wedding, Lauren admitted that they were still in the early stages of planning the wedding, so they hadn’t figured out much yet.

‘We’re still thinking about the wedding and what it’s going to be. Will it be big? Will it be abroad? We don’t know yet,” she said.

And Jeff made it clear he was leaving it in her hands, telling the outlet when asked if he would be heavily involved in the planning, “Oh God, no. Do I look so stupid?’

As for whether Lauren will take her husband-to-be’s last name, she admitted, “Um, yeah, 100 percent.” I’m looking forward to being Mrs. Bezos.”

Musk, now in second place, will have to hand back the largest pay package in company history after a judge ruled he had induced strong-armed Tesla executives to award him $55 billion.

The ruling in a Delaware court comes five years after a lawsuit filed by shareholder Richard Tornetta targeted Musk and the directors of the electric car company he founded.

Chancery Court Judge Kathleen McCormick found in her ruling that the process leading to the board’s approval of his 2018 compensation package was “deeply flawed.”

Musk had “extensive ties to the individuals charged with negotiating on Tesla’s behalf,” she found, including General Counsel Todd Maron, who was his “former divorce attorney.”

Musk immediately responded to the statement on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, by tweeting: “Never incorporate your company in the State of Delaware.”

“I recommend incorporating in Nevada or Texas if you prefer shareholders to decide things.”

Defense attorneys said the pay plan was fairly negotiated by a committee of independent directors, included lofty performance milestones and was blessed with a shareholder vote that wasn’t even required.

McCormick ordered executives to go back to the drawing board in an attempt to come up with a suitable pay package for the world’s richest man.

“The parties must submit some form of final order implementing this decision and file a joint brief identifying all issues, including the awards, that must be addressed to bring this matter to a successful conclusion at the trial level,” she wrote.

Musk owns 13 percent of Tesla shares, but announced an offer earlier this month to secure a quarter of the voting shares.

“I feel uncomfortable growing Tesla into a leader in AI and robotics without having ~25% voting control,” he wrote on X.

“Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overthrown.”

Tesla shares fell about 3 percent in the wake of the ruling.

Third on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index list is Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, with $197 billion. The French company oversees numerous luxury brands and has a market capitalization of $382 billion in the eurozone.

Arnault is followed by Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft magnate Bill Gates, who come in at $179 billion and $150 billion respectively.

Steve Ballmer, Warren Buffet, Larry Ellison, Larry Page and Sergey Brin round out the top ten.

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, vice chairman of L’Oréal, is the richest woman in the world, ranking 15th on the list with a worth of $97.1 billion.