Elon Musk has

passed Facebook Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to become

the third-richest person in the world on Monday as shares of Tesla Inc. continued their unrelenting rally after undergoing a forward stock split, reported Bloomberg.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk is now worth $115.4 billion compared to $110.8 billion for Zuckerberg. The 49-year-old has seen a meteoric rise in his wealth, with his net worth growing by $87.8 billion in 2020 as Tesla shares surged almost 500%.

Also read: Elon Musk demonstrates progress merging brains and machines

Musk’s pay package, which is the largest corporate pay deal ever struck between a chief executive officer and a board of directors also comes into play when estimating his value as it could yield him more than $50 billion if all goals are met. 

Also read: Elon Musk’s SpaceX becomes third Unicorn to reach $46 billion valuation

Tesla, which is a favorite among amateur investors on online trading firm Robinhood Financial, has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the boom in retail investing during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns with almost 40,000 Robinhood accounts adding Tesla shares during a single four-hour span last month. 

As tech stocks rose, Musk joined Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates in the rarefied centibillionaire club last week.