--- title: "Elon Musk Taunts Jeff Bezos For Becoming World’s Second-Richest Person" description: "SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is poking fun at his favorite adversary Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos after making him the second richest person in the world." date: "2021-09-29" modified: "2021-09-29" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-taunts-jeff-bezos-second-richest-person" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Jeff Bezos" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "blue origin" - "elon musk" - "jeff bezos" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Taunts Jeff Bezos For Becoming World’s Second-Richest Person ![SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is poking fun at his favorite adversary Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos after making him the second richest person in the world.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Silver Medal Tesla CEO Elon Musk [just surpassed]() Blue Origin founder and fellow space billionaire Jeff Bezos in *Forbes*' billionaire rankings to become the world's richest person — [again]() — with an estimated net worth of $201.7 billion. And Musk is appreciating his rare moment in the limelight by poking fun at his favorite adversary, or possibly frenemy. "I’m sending a giant statue of the digit ‘2’ to Jeffrey B., along with a silver medal," Musk [wrote in a brief acceptance speech email]() to *Forbes*. Bezos' PR people did not reply to *Forbes*' request for comment. ## Litigious Jeff The two space billionaires have repeatedly butted heads lately. Front and center is [the controversy]() surrounding NASA's multibillion dollar contract to develop a lunar lander. SpaceX [emerged as the sole winner]() back in April, leaving Blue Origin in the dust. Bezos did not take the decision well, and [sued NASA]() last month. Amazon has also [filed several lawsuits]() against SpaceX, arguing that the Musk-led company is breaking Federal Communications rules in the rollout of its Starlink internet satellites. ## Hard Jabs The billionaire ranking clearly has amused Musk — but judging by his tone, being called the richest person doesn't seem to matter an awful lot to him. And why should it? Estimated net worth rankings are a rather obscure reflection of a number of factors that may or may not be of any consequence in the real world. But if there's an opportunity to take a jab at "Jeffrey," Musk is sure as hell going to take it. **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk Responds To Replacing Jeff Bezos As World’s Richest Person]() \[*Forbes*\] **More on the richest person:** *[Elon Musk Is Officially the Richest Person on Earth Again]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()