what is exactly does it mean when they list bezos’s net worth at such and such number? Or the fact that Tesla seems to be “cash poor” but Musk’s net worth recently skyrocketed?
In: Economics
Net worth encompasses a multitude of different assets: cars, houses, boats, property, technology etc. Basically, the value of whatever you own is calculated into your net worth. In *my* case – that would mean all my textbooks, my laptop, my phone, the cash in my bank account, my headphones, my computer mouse, etc. In Jeff Bezos’ case, a vast majority of his net worth is currently held in stock options from Amazon – the company he founded. SO while Jeff might be ‘worth’ $180 billion or whatever – if he wanted to buy a 100 billion dollar spaceship he would have to liquidate his stock options, which might well take up to (or more than) a decade. So really, the net worth of Jeff Bezos is kind of misleading – he might have *access* to 180+ billion dollars, but in reality he probably has less than 10 billion in actual physical goods and cash at any given moment (all spread across his houses and cars and shit).
EDIT: forgot to mention; for tesla, a big reason why they’re ‘poor’ but Musk is ‘rich’ comes down to those stock options. The value of stocks can fluctuate based on a multitude of factors, but the main thing to remember is that they have no value in themselves. Unlike gold (which is stable in value), stocks can rise and drop based on group psychology and world events and the like. Because Musk owns a bunch of stock in the company he owns, his net worth will rise if the stock price rises – but tesla the company doesn’t see any of that ‘cash’ unless they sell stocks.
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