Elon Musk Nudges Past Warren Buffet, Becoming 7th Richest Person Alive

The car manufacturer's stock has jumped more than 500% over the past 12 months, giving Musk hope of challenging other members of the list, including Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, who has a net worth of $188 billion.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has surpassed investor Warren Buffet on the list of the wealthiest people, becoming the seventh richest person in the world. The change occurred after Tesla's stock surged 10.8% on Friday and the company reached a market value of $286.5 billion. As a result, Musk, who owns 20.8% of Tesla's stock, gained an additional $6 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett laughs during an interview with Liz Claman on the Fox Business Network in Omaha, Neb., Monday, May 5, 2014.

© AP Photo / Nati Harnik

At the same time, Buffet, who is planning to give away a big share of his wealth to charity, donated nearly $3 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock to philanthropic ventures.

At the end of May, Tesla granted Musk stock options worth $1.8 billion and now the company is ready to do it again. In total, the CEO could eventually gain $20.3 billion in stock options over the course of 10 years under his package.