Elon Musk becomes first person to cross $500 bn net worth

Elon Musk has reached another historic milestone, becoming the first person in the world to cross $500 billion in net worth. The achievement came on Wednesday after Tesla’s share price climbed this year, along with rising valuations of his other companies.

According to Forbes’ billionaires index, Musk’s fortune briefly touched $500 billion before closing at $499.1 billion by 5 pm ET. This comes less than a year after his wealth crossed $400 billion, further widening his lead as the world’s richest man.

Musk’s fortune is tied mostly to his 12% stake in Tesla, the world’s most valuable carmaker. Tesla shares have risen nearly 14% in 2025, boosted by Musk’s recent $1 billion stock purchase and the company’s shift toward AI and robotics.

The Tesla board has also proposed a record-breaking $1 trillion pay package for Musk. If approved, it would be the largest compensation plan ever offered to a corporate executive, aiming to keep Musk focused on Tesla while he manages several other ventures.

Since this plan was announced in early September, Tesla’s stock has jumped more than 35%.

Musk’s Other Ventures

Beyond Tesla, Musk’s wealth is also fueled by SpaceX and xAI. SpaceX, now worth around $400 billion, leads the commercial space industry with its Starlink satellite network and frequent rocket launches. Meanwhile, his AI company, xAI, is reportedly valued at nearly $200 billion as it develops its supercomputer “Colossus” and the Grok chatbot to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

With these ventures expanding rapidly, Musk has influence across multiple industries – from cars and clean energy to space and artificial intelligence.

As of Wednesday, Oracle founder Larry Ellison ranked second on Forbes’ list, far behind Musk, with an estimated net worth of $350.7 billion.

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