The Tesla and SpaceX CEO reached this extraordinary milestone thanks to the rebound in Tesla’s stock price and rising valuations of his other technology ventures.
According to Forbes’ billionaires index, Musk’s wealth briefly touched the $500 billion mark before closing at $499.1 billion by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The achievement comes less than a year after his fortune crossed $400 billion, solidifying his position as the world’s richest individual by a wide margin.
Musk’s immense wealth is primarily linked to his 12% stake in Tesla, the world’s most valuable automaker. After a turbulent start to the year, Tesla shares have risen by around 14%, boosting the billionaire’s net worth significantly.
Just last month, Musk purchased $1 billion worth of Tesla shares, which analysts viewed as a powerful sign of confidence in the company. Tesla, once focused purely on electric vehicles, is now aggressively expanding into artificial intelligence and robotics, a move investors believe will shape the company’s next era of growth.
Adding to the momentum, Tesla’s board recently proposed a record-breaking $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk. The package sets ambitious financial and operational goals while addressing his demand for a larger stake in the company. This plan, the largest ever offered to a corporate executive, is designed to keep Musk focused on Tesla amid his growing commitments across ventures like SpaceX, Neuralink, and xAI.
Since the compensation plan’s announcement on September 5, Tesla’s stock has surged 35.7%, reflecting investor optimism and renewed faith in Musk’s leadership. Analysts say the plan will ensure Musk remains deeply invested in Tesla’s long-term transformation from a carmaker to a tech-driven innovation leader.
Elon Musk’s $500 billion milestone marks a defining moment in global wealth history. His growing empire—spanning electric cars, AI, and space exploration—continues to reshape industries. The new $1 trillion pay package may lock his focus on Tesla’s next chapter, as the company evolves from automaker to technology titan. The world now watches what Musk’s next move will be—because wherever he invests his focus, markets tend to follow.
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His ventures, over the years, have given Musk an outsized sway over technology industries, from electric cars and clean energy to satellite communications and artificial intelligence, Reuters reported.
Musk s AI startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX have also scaled their valuations this year and are reportedly raising funds at $200 billion and $400 billion valuations, respectively.
The AI startup, valued at $75 billion in July, is expanding a supercomputer, dubbed "Colossus", to train large-scale models as its Grok chatbot seeks to rival established players such as OpenAI s ChatGPT and Google s Gemini.
SpaceX has cemented its dominance in the commercial space sector, operating the world s largest satellite network through Starlink while capturing the bulk of U.S. launch contracts.
The company also consistently launches the most rockets in the world, regularly serving the International Space Station and carrying satellites for rival networks.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison follows Musk as the second-richest person on Forbes list, with a net worth of about $350.7 billion as of Wednesday.
