Elon Musk is now richer than any American ever
JUST IN: Elon Musk is now the richest American in history, worth more than his next three contemporaries combined and surpassing historical tycoons like John D. Rockefeller.
Elon Musk is now the richest American who has ever lived.
Not richest alive, richest ever. He's worth more than his next three contemporaries combined, and he's sailed past the historical benchmarks too, including John D. Rockefeller, the man whose name was basically a synonym for unimaginable money for a century. The oil baron has been dethroned by the rocket guy.
Think about what that comparison means. Rockefeller controlled American oil so completely the government had to break his company apart. Musk's empire runs on rockets, cars, satellites and a social network, and his fortune just lapped all of it.
Fortunes like this ride on stock prices, and stock prices ride on moods. The same scoreboard that crowned him can take it back by Tuesday. For tonight though, nobody in American history has ever been worth more.
This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.
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