Elon Musk has become the first person to surpass a personal net worth of $500bn. The milestone reflects the rising value of Tesla and his other companies this year.
His fortune briefly touched $500.1bn on Wednesday afternoon in New York. It later fell slightly to just over $499bn, according to Forbes’ billionaires index.
Other Musk ventures, including the artificial intelligence startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX, have also seen substantial valuation gains in recent months.
Musk widens lead among the world’s richest
The milestone secures Musk’s position as the world’s richest person. He remains far ahead of global tech competitors. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison ranks second with about $350.7bn.
Ellison briefly surpassed Musk last month after Oracle shares surged more than 40%. The jump followed strong forecasts for its cloud business and AI deals.
Tesla fuels Musk’s record wealth
Most of Musk’s fortune comes from his 12% stake in Tesla. The company’s shares have risen sharply this year.
Tesla stock climbed more than 3.3% in New York on Wednesday. Shares have now gained over 20% since January.
Investors welcomed Musk dedicating more focus to his companies. Earlier political involvement had raised concerns about his priorities.
Political involvement sparks controversy
Musk faced criticism 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 through his platform X. These statements frequently triggered heated debate.
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm said in September that Musk was now “front and centre” at the company.
Path to trillion-dollar payout
Tesla’s board said Musk could receive a pay package exceeding $1tn. The reward depends on achieving ambitious goals over the next decade.
The targets include boosting Tesla’s value eightfold, selling one million AI robots, and producing 12 million additional cars.
Musk shows confidence with stock purchase
Last month Musk bought about $1bn of Tesla shares. Investors saw the move as a strong vote of confidence in the company’s future.
Tesla still faces strong competition from Chinese rival BYD. At the same time, it is expanding further into artificial intelligence and robotics.
