Elon Musk has become the first person ever to reach a net worth above $500bn. The milestone reflects soaring values of Tesla and his other ventures this year.
His fortune briefly touched $500.1bn on Wednesday afternoon in New York. It later slipped slightly to just over $499bn, according to Forbes’ billionaires index.
Other Musk companies, including the AI startup xAI and rocket firm SpaceX, have also seen substantial valuation gains in recent months.
Musk extends lead as world’s richest
The milestone confirms Musk as the richest individual on the planet. He stays far ahead of other tech industry leaders. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison ranks second with about $350.7bn.
Ellison briefly surpassed Musk last month after Oracle shares rose more than 40%. The jump followed strong forecasts for its cloud business and artificial intelligence partnerships.
Tesla fuels Musk’s fortune surge
Most of Musk’s wealth comes from his 12% stake in Tesla. The automaker’s shares have risen sharply this year.
Shares climbed more than 3.3% in New York on Wednesday. They have now gained over 20% since January.
Investors welcomed Musk dedicating more time to his companies. Earlier political involvement had raised concerns about his focus.
Political actions spark criticism
Musk faced backlash for his work with the Department of Government Efficiency. The Trump-linked agency aimed to cut spending and reduce jobs.
He also voiced opinions on immigration and diversity programmes on his platform X. These statements often provoked heated public debate.
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm said in September that Musk was now “front and centre” at the company.
Trillion-dollar compensation on horizon
Tesla’s board revealed Musk could unlock a pay package worth more than $1tn. The reward depends on achieving ambitious targets over the next decade.
Targets include boosting Tesla’s value eightfold, selling one million AI robots, and producing 12 million additional cars.
Musk signals confidence with stock purchase
Last month Musk bought about $1bn of Tesla shares. Investors viewed the move as a strong vote of confidence in the company’s future.
Tesla continues to face intense competition from Chinese rival BYD. At the same time, it is advancing further into artificial intelligence and robotics.
