Elon Musk's rank as the world's richest person in flux amid Twitter drama

Elon Musk's status as the world's richest person is under threat.

Forbes, which tracks the wealth of the richest people in real-time, has shown the CEO of Austin-based Tesla fluctuating between No. 1 and No. 2 on the list beginning Wednesday in a neck-and-neck struggle with Bernard Arnault and his family, after Arnault briefly ranked first with a net worth of $185.3 billion compared with Musk's $185.3 billion.

Musk was back in the top slot as of early Friday afternoon, however, with a $188.8 billion net worth, surpassing Arnault's $187.3 billion. Arnault, 71, is the CEO of French luxury goods maker LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and other luxury brands.

The fortunes of both billionaires are influenced by the prices of their companies' stock. Forbes estimates that the two men's net worths are separated by only a few hundred million dollars, so it's likely they'll continue to flip-flop.

Musk's stumbles at the pinnacle come 14 months after he first dethroned Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who was the richest person at the time but currently ranks fourth with an estimated net worth of $113.1 billion. Currently, both Musk and Arnault are well above Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, who sits in third place and is estimated to be worth $135 billion.

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Forbes estimated that Musk’s wealth peaked in November 2021, when he was worth $320 billion.

Bloomberg also tracks the wealth of the world's richest people on its Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which updates daily after markets close. On that list, Musk has maintained his first-place status and is estimated to have a net worth of $171 billion — although Bloomberg notes that Musk has lost about $99.2 billion this year.

Arnault is second on the Bloomberg list with a $168 billion net worth.

Much of Musk's wealth is tied up in Austin-based Tesla stock, which has fallen about 46% this year and outpaced broader market declines. This week alone, the stock dropped nearly 11% through Thursday, although it was up more than 4% Friday morning.

The electric automaker relocated its headquarters to Austin last year, where it has opened a massive manufacturing facility in Travis County.

Some investors have cooled on Tesla amid Musk's recent stock sales and worries that he is stretched too thin after buying social media company Twitter. Musk has sold more than $19 billion worth of Tesla stock since April, partly to fund his Twitter purchase.

Analysts have said continued controversy surrounding the Twitter takeover will likely impact Tesla and take up more of Musk's time, money and attention. Musk has brought in employees from Tesla, SpaceX and the Boring Company to assist in his efforts to overhaul Twitter, according to CNBC.

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Tesla also has faced hurdles outside of Twitter, with impacts from supply chain issues and shutdowns in China. Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn said in October that Tesla may not meet its goal of 50% sales growth this year, though Musk contradicted him.

Reuters reported this week that Tesla will suspend Model Y assembly at its Shanghai plant between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, citing an internal memo and two people with knowledge of the matter. Separately, Bloomberg also reported this week that a top executive who oversaw Tesla's construction in Shanghai will move to Austin to help run its Travis County factory, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company has been working to step up production at its new facilities in Austin and Berlin, which are expected to have a big impact on its future.

Tesla's Austin factory, which held a grand opening in April and started delivering vehicles that same day, is considered the company's most advanced to date. Currently, the facility produces Model Y vehicles, but it is expected to eventually produce the Cybertruck and Model 3, as well as batteries for electric vehicles.

Even if Musk's wealth status slips on a global level, he'll still be the richest Texan, according to the Forbes ranking. The billionaire confirmed in 2020 that he moved to Texas, and later said he lives in South Texas near SpaceX's Boca Chica facility, though he spends a significant portion of time in Austin and has moved or expanded most of his companies to the region.

Other Texans on the Forbes list include Walmart heiress Alice Walton, who ranks 19th and is worth about $60.3 billion, and Austin resident Michael Dell, founder of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies, who ranks 23rd. Forbes estimated that Dell is worth about $52.8 billion.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Elon Musk's rank as world's richest person in flux amid Twitter drama