Elon Musk has secured a place in history by being the first person to build a net worth of over $400 billion. The fortune of Tesla’s chief executive officer, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, rose to $447 billion last month, placing him way ahead of his nearest competitor, the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, who stands at about $250 billion, some $150 billion less than Musk.
Rounding out the top five after Musk are Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with $224 billion, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison at $198 billion, and French luxury magnate Bernard Arnault, previously the world’s richest man, at $181 billion.
But what has caused such a spike in Musk’s wealth? Well, according to recent reports, a major increase in value was derived from an insider sale at SpaceX, with Musk’s fortune rising by as much as $50 billion. Forbes pointed out that the share buyback deal at SpaceX valued it at $350 billion, thus becoming the world’s most valuable private company. The SpaceX stake owned by Musk has reached 42% and is now valued at an estimated $147 billion.
The buyback included the purchase of $1.25 billion worth of shares from employees and insiders. Musk said on X, “What’s really crazy about this is that almost no investors wanted to sell shares even at a $350B valuation!”
Bloomberg stated that Musk saw a record single-day wealth gain of $62.8 billion and the combined fortunes of the world’s richest 500 individuals have surpassed $10 trillion for the first time.
Musk’s financial rise also coincides with his being tight with the President-elect Donald Trump with whom he campaigned and contributed to prolifically. Musk is rumored to be in talks for a key position in the administration, allegedly as co-head of something called the proposed Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE. That friendship with Trump has been seen to be a good thing for Musk companies, especially those like Tesla with heavy reliance on federal contracts and subsidies.
Tesla shares have jumped 70% since November 5, partly on expectations the Trump administration will kill tax credits for Tesla’s competitors. Bloomberg added that Tesla’s stock gain on Wednesday added $62 billion to Musk’s fortune, the largest one-day increase in history.
Musk owns roughly 13% of Tesla excluding stock options, which are worth about $170 billion. He also owns 54% of xAI, which is valued at an estimated $50 billion – a valuation that has doubled since May. He also has ownership stakes in X and the Boring Company.
It has not been an easy ride, though. Last week, a Delaware judge refused to overturn an order blocking Musk from receiving a package worth $56 billion after Tesla shareholders voted to revive it in June. Musk took to X to express his anger: “Shareholders should control company votes, not judges.” Tesla said it was appealing the ruling, with possible proceedings lasting as long as a year.
Musk’s net worth now surpasses the annual GDP of more than 140 countries, which include Pakistan, New Zealand, and Kuwait. This year alone, his wealth growth outpaced India’s merchandise exports, valued at $144.12 billion for April to July 2024. Further, Musk’s fortune has outshone the Tata Group, the first Indian conglomerate to exceed a valuation of $400 billion.
Forbes speculates that if Musk’s companies continue to hold their value, he will remain the world’s richest person and could be the first trillionaire at the end of the decade. A man of such wealth could hold tremendous power over nations and even the future of humanity, as he has already shown ambitions for interplanetary travel and the colonization of Mars to ensure the survival of the human race.
