Elon Musk is $36 billion richer since returning from his triumphant China trip

Elon Musk is $36 billion richer following his recent trip to China. The Tesla CEO has gained $36 billion in net worth over the last week, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, after Tesla shares surged over reports that the company had moved a step closer to getting approval to roll out its Full Self-Driving technology in China. Despite the latest rally, the SpaceX CEO has seen his personal wealth drop by $27.5 billion since the start of the year, according to Bloomberg data, as Tesla shares have trended downward. Shares rose by 12% on Monday's opening bell following Musk's surprise trip to China, which Wedbush analyst Dan Ives described as a "Home run," although they are still down nearly 22% since the start of the year. Musk is also still a lot less rich than he was in 2021, when he was top of the billionaire's index with an estimated fortune of $340 billion. Three years later, he's now behind LVMH boss Bernard Arnault and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with a current estimated net worth of $202 billion. Musk has proved adept at spinning bad news into share price bumps in the past, raking in $100 billion last year despite ongoing issues at social media site X, and after a bumpy few weeks, it looks like he's been able to do it again.