Musk becomes first person to hit US$500 billion net worth, Forbes list shows

Elon Musk arrives at the tenth Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

Elon Musk on Wednesday became the first person to surpass US$500 billion in net worth, powered by a rebound in Tesla’s share price this year and swelling valuations of his other tech ventures.

The milestone comes just under a year after Musk’s net worth crossed $400 billion and underscores his lead as the world’s richest person.

Musk’s fortune briefly hit $500 billion on Wednesday, before settling at $499.1 billion at 5 p.m. ET, according to Forbes’ billionaires index.

His wealth is tied closely to his about 12 per cent stake in Tesla, the world’s most valuable automaker. The electric-vehicle maker’s stock has climbed about 14 per cent so far this year after a choppy start.

Musk last month disclosed his purchase of about $1 billion worth of Tesla shares, in what was seen as a vote of confidence as the company races to transition from an automaker to an AI and robotics powerhouse.

The carmaker’s board last month 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.

The package is the largest ever offered to a corporate executive and investors expect the pay plan to deepen Musk’s focus on Tesla at a time when he has juggled commitments across multiple ventures.

The stock has risen 35.7 per cent since the package was disclosed on September 5.

From autos to aerospace to AI

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.

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.

Reporting by Deborah Sophia and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Sriraj Kalluvila, Reuters