Fortune has just named their Businessperson of the Year selection for 2020, and it is none other than Tesla CEO Elon Reeve Musk.
Musk is also credited as the founder, CEO, CTO, and chief engineer of SpaceX, founder of The Boring Company, co-founder of Neuralink, and co-founder of OpenAI, in addition to being at the forefront of the company leading the EV revolution.
Throughout 2020, while COVID-19 found its way through the world and devastated countless companies, Elon Musk has prospered, and so have his businesses.
The company’s stock soared, trading at an all-time high of USD 607 per share at one point and currently has a market cap north of USD 539 billion, after Tesla’s long-awaited inclusion to the S&P 500 index was reported.
Tesla has been the envy of most of the auto industry with innovative ingenuity and productive market strategies under Musk’s leadership.
SpaceX is soaring. Tesla is roaring. How @elonmusk, the world’s most creative and controversial CEO, is transforming one industry after another—and why he’s Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year. https://t.co/ibgASNtL0x
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) December 2, 2020
This year, Musk’s other brainchild, SpaceX, has done very well too. The aerospace manufacturer and space exploration company completed its 100th successful flight, launched the Starlink satellite internet network in beta, and reached a US$46 billion valuation.
During a tumultuous time for the business sector, Musk and his commodities have done exceptionally well, but what won the eccentric business magnate recognition as Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year is his tradition of placing intention before profit on all fronts, his ambitions greater than life (and the incredible progress he makes towards them), his sincere desire (and effort to make life).
AMD’s Lisa Su at #2, Netflix’s Reed Hastings at #4, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos at #7, and Fortune’s Most Influential Woman of 2020, Accenture’s Julie Sweet at #14, also make up Fortune’s list of the top 20 Businesspersons of the Year.
As Musk’s net worth increased, Elon Musk passed Bill Gates to become the second richest man in the world. Recently, He crossed Mark Zuckerberg to become 3rd richest man.
The South African-born billionaire holds a 20% stake in Tesla, which so far this year has seen its share price increase more than fivefold.
A bonus contract, however, could further swell his coffers, pushing him on the rich list above Gates. In a pay system connected to the share price, he’s the line for a record bonus of £ 41.5 billion.
Musk needs to develop Tesla into a £ 490 billion firm by 2028 to qualify for the full payout.
