Musk's fortune is now estimated at $169.8 billion. He ranks second in the ranking after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose fortune is $188.6 billion.
Most of Musk's fortune comes from a package at Tesla. He owns 21% of the company's shares.
Tesla shares rose 7.9% on the back of news of record car deliveries in the first quarter. Tesla delivered 184800 vehicles to customers worldwide in the first quarter of 2021, up from 88400 vehicles a year earlier.