Forbes said the Tesla and SpaceX founder is now the wealthiest individual ever recorded. His fortune surged by about $500 billion in the past year, mainly due to rising valuations of Tesla and SpaceX. The space company is also expected to target a public offering in 2026, which could push Musk’s wealth even higher.

This is the second year in a row that Musk has ranked number one on the Forbes World’s Billionaires list. With such rapid growth, analysts say he could soon become the world’s first trillionaire if market trends continue in his favour.

Forbes reported that the number of billionaires worldwide has also reached a new record. A total of 3,428 billionaires now hold a combined wealth of $20.1 trillion, the highest figure ever recorded. The increase has been largely driven by an AI-powered stock market boom that boosted technology companies and investor wealth.

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Chase Peterson-Withorn, Senior Editor at Forbes Wealth, said the past year has been extraordinary for the super-rich. “It’s the year of the billionaire,” he said, noting that the world added more than one billionaire every day over the last twelve months.

Behind Musk on the list are some of the biggest names in the tech industry. Google co-founder Larry Page ranks second with an estimated net worth of $257 billion, followed by Sergey Brin in third place with $237 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos holds the fourth position with $224 billion, while Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg completes the top five with a fortune of $222 billion.

The list also noted a rise in wealth for US President Donald Trump. His fortune increased by 27% to about $6.5 billion after gains from cryptocurrency ventures and a New York fraud penalty being dismissed. Trump now ranks 645th among the world’s billionaires.