Elon Musk Becomes First Person in History Worth $500 Billion

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made history as the first individual to reach a net worth of nearly $500 billion. Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires tracker lists Musk at $500.1 billion, up from $400 billion last December when he became the first person to cross that milestone.

Musk is now $150 billion ahead of runner-up Larry Ellison and edging closer to becoming the world’s first trillionaire. His wealth is largely tied to Tesla, where he holds a 12.4% stake as of September 15. Tesla shares have risen over 14% this year, closing 3.3% higher on Wednesday, adding more than $6 billion to Musk’s net worth.

Beyond Tesla, Musk’s fortunes are bolstered by his AI startup xAI and SpaceX. xAI was valued at $75 billion in July, while SpaceX explored funding and insider share sales valuing the company around $400 billion.

After a turbulent start to the year, Tesla shares rebounded as Musk refocused on his companies. Board chair Robyn Denholm noted last month that Musk was back “front and centre” following his advisory stint at the White House. Musk also recently bought $1 billion in Tesla shares, signaling confidence in the company’s AI and robotics ambitions.

Tesla’s board has proposed a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk, aligning major financial and operational targets with his growing stake in the company.