Elon Musk has become the first person whose net worth reaches $500 billion, creating a solid foundation for the Tesla CEO to become a trillionaire. Specifically, on Wednesday Musk’s wealth temporarily exceeded half a trillion dollars before falling back to $499 billion, according to Forbes’ billionaires list. It’s worth noting that Musk owns 12% of Tesla, which is valued at more than $1.5 trillion, and his wealth has been boosted this year by the rise in the electric vehicle manufacturer’s stock price. According to Pitchbook data, the 54-year-old also has other businesses, such as space flight company SpaceX, which according to recent reports is valued at $400 billion, and xAI, an artificial intelligence company valued at $75 billion in July. As The Guardian emphasizes, Tesla shares had declined earlier this year, affected by competition from Chinese companies, declining sales, and doubts about Musk’s focus on the company due to his other business activities and his turbulent relationship with Donald Trump. Musk’s public support for Trump and his right-wing political views on X have also negatively affected Tesla sales, according to analysts.
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Nevertheless, Tesla shares have increased by 70% over the past six months, as the investment climate improved, with Musk refocusing his attention on his companies. Since the beginning of 2025, shares are now 13% higher. Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm said last month that Musk returned “to the center” of the company after several months at the White House.
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A few days later, Musk revealed the purchase of approximately $1 billion worth of shares, showing great confidence in Tesla’s future, as the company seeks to transform from an automaker to a leader in artificial intelligence and robotics.
Last month, Tesla’s board proposed a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk, setting high financial and operational targets for the CEO.
However, Musk’s position at the top of the world’s richest people list wasn’t stable last month, as it should be noted that in September, Larry Ellison, co-founder of software company Oracle, temporarily surpassed Musk as the world’s richest person, according to Bloomberg’s billionaires index, a competitor to Forbes’ list.
Today, Bloomberg shows Musk far ahead of Ellison, calculating the Tesla CEO’s wealth at $470 billion, compared to Ellison’s $349 billion.
