Elon Musk Is Now Worth $500 Billion, Can Become A Trillionaire Soon

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become the first person in history to achieve a net worth of nearly half a trillion dollars. The richest person on the planet is now worth $500.1 billion, according to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires tracker. The former advisor to US President Donald Trump became the first person ever worth $400 billion or more in December. His net worth is $150 billion more than that of runner-up Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle. 

The South Africa-born billionaire's fortunes are tied closely to his electric vehicle manufacturing company, Tesla, where he holds over a 12.4 per cent stake as of September 15. The company's stock has risen more than 14 per cent so far this year and climbed by nearly 4 per cent on Wednesday, adding an estimated $9.3 billion to Musk's fortune.

A Look At Musk's Fortune

After a turbulent start to the year, Tesla shares have trended higher as investor sentiment improved after Musk announced he's stepping back from his role as head of President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to bring his focus back to his company. 

Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm said last month that Musk was back "front and centre" at the company after several months at the White House. A few days later, Musk revealed that he had purchased approximately $1 billion worth of shares, demonstrating a significant level of confidence in Tesla's future as it strives to transform from an automaker to a leader in AI and robotics. 

The Tesla board last month also proposed a $1 trillion 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.

Tesla is not the only company that drives Musk's half-trillion-dollar fortune. His AI startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX have also scaled their valuations this year.

xAI last had a valuation of $75 billion as of July, according to data from Pitchbook. CNBC in September reported the company was eyeing a valuation of $200 billion after a fundraise, but Musk said it was not raising any capital at the time.

Bloomberg News reported in July that SpaceX was discussing plans to raise money and sell insider shares in a deal valuing the firm at around $400 billion.

If his fortune maintains the growth pace, Musk could become the world's first trillionaire before March 2033, when the first of two vesting dates for his $1 trillion Tesla pay package hits, according to the Forbes report.