Elon Musk has become the first person to reach a net worth of $500bn, bringing the Tesla chief executive halfway to trillionaire status.
Musk’s wealth temporarily crossed the half-trillion mark on Wednesday before retreating to $499bn, according to the Forbes billionaires list.
Musk owns 12% of Tesla, which is worth more than $1.5tn, and his wealth has been boosted this year by surge in the electric carmaker’s share price.
The 54-year-old’s other businesses include the rocket company SpaceX, which was recently reported to be seeking a $400bn valuation, and xAI, an artificial intelligence company that had a valuation of $75bn as of July, according to data from Pitchbook. Musk owns a 42% stake in SpaceX.
Tesla shares fell early this year, hit by a combination of the competitive threat from Chinese rivals, falling sales and doubts over Musk’s focus on the company, amid distractions from his other businesses and his tempestuous relationship with Donald Trump. Musk’s vocal support for Trump and expression of rightwing political views on X, the social media platform he owns, have also damaged Tesla sales, according to analysts.
However, Tesla shares climbed by 70% over the last six months as investor sentiment improved on Musk bringing his focus back to his companies. They are now 13% higher since the start of 2025.
The Tesla board chair, Robyn Denholm, said last month Musk was back “front and centre” at the company after several months at the White House.
Days later, Musk disclosed his purchase of about $1bn worth of the shares in a huge vote of confidence for the future of Tesla as it races to transition from an automaker to an AI and robotics powerhouse.
The Tesla board last month proposed a $1tn compensation plan for Musk, setting out lofty financial and operational targets for the CEO while also addressing his demands for a bigger stake in the company.
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Musk’s position at the top of the wealth league has nonetheless been shaky over the past month. In September Larry Ellison, co-founder of the business software firm Oracle, briefly overtook Musk as the world’s richest person, according to Bloomberg’s billionaires index – a rival to the Forbes list.
Bloomberg now has Musk way ahead of Ellison but it calculates the Tesla boss’s wealth as being $470bn, compared with Ellison’s $349bn.
