Heisenberg Media, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has emerged as the first person to hit a personal net worth of $500 billion.
This was unveiled in the latest edition of Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires index.
Musk conveniently dusted Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, his runner-up, by nearly $150 billion.
Musk’s new status followed the rise of Tesla’s shares by 4 per cent on Wednesday. The development added more than $9 billion to his wealth in a single day.
Tesla’s stock has almost doubled since April, when Musk announced he would step back from his role in President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency to refocus on Tesla.
The company’s market capitalisation is now within 10 per cent of its all-time high. The founder’s 12 per cent stake is valued at roughly $191 billion.
The figure excludes billions in stock options tied to his 2018 compensation plan, valued at $133 billion if he wins his ongoing legal appeal.
The company’s board has proposed a new pay package that could give Musk stock worth up to $1 trillion, depending on performance.
Musk also has wealth flowing in from other ventures. SapceX, his space exploration company, was valued at $400 billion in a private tender in August 2025.
The founder’s 42 per cent stake is estimated at $168 billion.
Musk also has a 53 per cent stake in xAI Holding, formed through the merger of his AI startup xAI and microblogging platform X (Twitter), valued at around $60 billion.
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