Elon Musk’s net worth quintupled in 2020 during the pandemic. We broke his complicated $160 billion wealth down into 2 simple charts.

• #Perhaps nobody had a better year, financially speaking, than #Tesla and #SpaceX CEO #Elon #Musk.
• The billionaire saw his wealth more than quintuple during a pandemic that’s left hundreds of thousands dead and many more out of work.
• #Yet the magnate takes a very small salary, instead relying on massive stakes in his companies to accumulate wealth.
• #With #Tesla’s stunning performance this year, it’s no surprise that those equity values have also swelled.
• #Visit #Business #Insider’s homepage for more stories.

#Financially, there is likely no one in the world who has had a more successful 2020 than #Tesla CEO #Elon #Musk.

#Musk – who was already a multi-billionaire going into 2020 – has seen his net worth more than quintuple over the course of the year. The #Tesla CEO’s net worth grew by $129 billion, as of #Monday – an increase of 469.9%, according to #Bloomberg’s #Billionaire #Index.

#Here is how #Musk got so much richer in 2020:

#Business #Insider charted #Musk’s net worth on the 1st and the 15th of every month, through #December 1. #We monitored bimonthly dates in an effort to avoid exaggerating the extreme peaks and drops in estimations of #Musk’s wealth, as many billionaires gain or lose billions of dollars in a single day thanks to fluctuations in stock prices. #This is particularly salient for #Musk, whose coffers swell and shrink virtually in-step with #Tesla’s equity value, while he takes the minimum legally allowed salary from #Tesla.

#Tesla’s stock price, the biggest source of 2020 gains for #Musk, soared to new heights this year. #Already the world’s most valuable automaker, #Tesla was worth nearly $645 billion with only one trading day left in the year. #That’s a 689% increase since #January 1, and a massive tailwind for #Musk, who, with an 18% stake, is easily its largest shareholder.

#But his small salary, at least on paper, left #Musk, in his own words, “cash poor.” #Like plenty of other well-to-do C-suiters, he still relies on mortgages and credit for daily life. “#Some people think I have a lot of cash,” #Musk told a major investor, #Cathie #Wood, on a podcast last year. “I actually don’t.”

#Yet despite the small salary, #Musk was still the world’s highest-paid executive last year thanks to a highly complex compensation package that awards him tranches of stock options when #Tesla achieves increasingly difficult stock, revenue, and profitability performance metrics.

#Tesla did not respond to a request for comment about #Musk’s compensation. #Regulatory filings show shareholders overwhelmingly approved the performance awards in 2018, and, as of #August, #Musk had unlocked two of the total tranches

#Much of that equity in #Tesla – and his stake in #SpaceX, a private company – is also pledged as collateral for mortgages and other loans. #That leaves his final stakes in the respective companies valued at slightly less than their face value. #This discounting is used by #Forbes’ famous wealth estimates as well as #Bloomberg’s billionaires index.

#Bloomberg pegged #Musk’s wealth at around $158 billion as of #December 15, with about $110 billion, or roughly 70% of that sum, from #Tesla stock and options, with another $18.7 billion from equity in #SpaceX.  A final $7 billion in #Bloomberg’s calculations is tied up in cash, homes, cars, and other assets.

#Here’s what that looks like broken down by percentages:

#In #May 2020 – in the middle of a pandemic that caused headaches for #Tesla’s factories in #California and #China – #Musk said he planned to sell “almost all” of his physical possessions, including the multiple homes he owned at the time.

—#Elon #Musk (@elonmusk) #May 1, 2020

#And by the end of the year, #Musk made good on earlier threats – at least in part -by moving himself and his charitable organization from #California to #Texas.

“#Tesla and #SpaceX obviously have mass operations in #California,” #Musk said at a conference hosted by The #Wall #Street #Journal in early #December. “#In fact, it’s worth noting that #Tesla is the last car company still manufacturing cars in #California. #Space X is the last aerospace company still doing significant manufacturing in #California. There used to be over a dozen car plants in #California, and #California used to be the center of aerospace manufacturing. #My companies are the last two left.”

“#For myself, yes, I have moved to #Texas,” #Musk continued. “#We’ve got the #Starship development here in #South #Texas where I am right now … and then we’ve got big factory developments just outside of #Austin for #Giga #Texas.”

#Beyond the symbolism following a spat with local health regulators, the move could save #Musk a pretty penny on income taxes.

#It’s not clear where, exactly, in #Texas #Musk may be calling home. #In moving to #Texas, he’ll be joining a growing cohort of former #Californians and #Silicon #Valley expats in a long-running exodus to the #Lone #Star #State that’s only been intensified by pandemic-induced work-from-home orders.

#What’s almost certain to continue, though, is #Tesla and #SpaceX’s growth. The automaker is on track to meet its goal of selling 500,000 units this year, analysts say, with increased demand in #China and the US helping spur the continued trend. #SpaceX, meanwhile, is in discussions about another round of funding that could raise its valuation as high as $92 billion, sources told #Business #Insider in #December.

#Musk has also flirted with the idea of combining his various ventures – from brain-engineering #Neuralink to tunnel-building #Boring #Company – under one roof.

—#Elon #Musk (@elonmusk) #December 23, 2020

#And as for #Tesla’s value in 2021? #Analysts are split. #Some analysts – like JPMorgan’s #Ryan #Brinkman – say it’s just a fraction of current prices, while bulls – including #Wedbush’s #Dan #Ives – believe there’s even more room to run.