Elon Musk becomes the second richest person in the world

Elon Musk is announced as the world's second-richest person, surpassing Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft's Bill Gates.

The 49-year-old Tesla co-founder is now worth $127.9 billion, thought to have grown exponentially due to a rise in Tesla's share price, which is 75 per cent of Musk's net worth.

Despite creating fewer vehicles than older companies such as Toyota, Hyundai and Volkswagen, Tesla's financial success continues to grow, with a 2028 plan to expand into an over half a trillion-dollar company.

This latest news puts Musk, who also owns SpaceX, just behind Amazon's Jeff Bezos, who is worth $181.4 billion.