Elon Musk is the world’s richest person. He likes to brag about it, too

Tesla boss Elon Musk is currently the world’s richest person. It appears he doesn’t want Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to forget about it.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Elon Musk is currently the world’s richest person. He doesn’t want Jeff Bezos to forget it.

The Tesla chief executive took to Twitter on Monday, replying to a tweet from Mr Bezos with an emoji showing a silver medal with the number 2 on it. Mr Musk’s reply appeared to be a reference to how Mr Bezos is the second-richest person in the world, behind Mr Musk himself.

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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 11, 2021

Mr Musk’s tweet responded to one from Mr Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, which referenced an article from 1999 that doubted the tech giant’s business model.

“Listen and be open, but don’t let anybody tell you who you are,” Mr Bezos wrote in his tweet on Sunday night. “Today, Amazon is one of the world’s most successful companies and has revolutionised two entirely different industries.”

Mr Musk’s estimated net worth was $US222bn ($A302bn) as of Friday. It has more than doubled over the past year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Mr Bezos has an estimated net worth of $US191bn.

Messrs Musk and Bezos didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Earlier this year, Mr Musk overtook Mr Bezos as the world’s richest person, primarily driven by a sharp rise in the value of Tesla and his private rocket company SpaceX.

The two have gone back and forth as the world’s richest people in recent months, pitting two of the tech industry’s biggest rivals against one another. Establishing the exact net worth of the world’s wealthiest can be tricky, in part because many of their holdings are private.

Messrs. Musk and Bezos have previously taken jabs at one another. Mr Musk questioned Amazon’s power over book publishing, calling it a monopoly. Mr Bezos has joked about Mr Musk’s interest in colonising the planet Mars.

Amazon last year bought a self-driving-car start-up that would compete with Tesla.

Messrs Musk and Bezos also compete in space. Mr Bezos owns the privately held rocket company Blue Origin. In July, Mr Bezos and three passengers reached the edge of space in the New Shepard, a flight that was part of the company’s broader mission to expand human space travel.

Blue Origin has faced criticism over safety and alleged instances of sexual harassment. US aviation regulators said last month that they were reviewing a letter signed by a former employee at Mr Bezos’ space company that claims the company gave priority to speed over safety on some of its rockets.

Mr Bezos’s tweet on Sunday was in reference to a cover story from Barron’s that was published in 1999. Barron’s is owned by Dow Jones & Company, which also owns The Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal