1. Bill Gates
Company: AutoNation Inc.
Stake Value: $914,554,258
Percent of Total Net Worth: .9%
Total Wealth: $105 billion
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Segment: Car dealers
Gates may not be the first person you would expect to see on a list of automotive wealth, but his share of car dealer AutoNation contributes to his overall fortune, most of which comes from Microsoft Corp. and Cascade Investment (which controls stakes in dozens of publicly traded companies, including Canadian National Railway, Deere, and Ecolab).
2. Larry Ellison
Company: Tesla Inc.
Stake Value: $730,773,000 to $1 billion
Percent of Total Net Worth: 1.3%
Total Wealth: $58.5 billion
Location: Palo Alto, Calif.
Segment: Passenger vehicles
Although he is the company’s second-largest shareholder, Ellison’s recently announced stake in Tesla is not the primary source of his wealth. He is the founder and main shareholder of the database company Oracle. The 75-year-old also owns the Indian Wells tennis event and real estate, including the island of Lanai, Hawaii.
3. Elon Musk
Company: Tesla Inc.
Stake Value: $8,307,076,693
Percent of Total Net Worth: 36.9%
Total Wealth: $22.9 billion
Location: Palo Alto, Calif.
Segment: Passenger vehicles
Likely the most famous person invested in the segment—certainly the most colorful—the South African divides his time between Tesla, the maker of luxury electric vehicles, and SpaceX, a rocket manufacturer. Musk has always been a polarizing figure, garnering acclaim for his visionary leadership and criticism for failing to meet deadlines and engaging in public disputes.
4. Pallonji Mistry