For the first time in history, a single individual has amassed a fortune of half a trillion dollars. Elon Musk reached the milestone of $500 billion (approximately €426 billion) on Wednesday afternoon, solidifying his position as the world’s richest man and leaving his closest competitors far behind, according to real-time data from Forbes.
The figure places Musk about $150 billion ahead of Larry Ellison, the Oracle founder who currently holds second place on the billionaire list. This achievement is largely driven by the performance of Tesla shares, which rose around 4% on Monday, boosting Musk’s wealth by nearly $9 billion in a single day. Musk currently owns 12% of Tesla, a stake valued at $191 billion.
The entrepreneur’s mega fortune rests on three fundamental pillars: his 42% stake in SpaceX, valued at $168 billion; his 53% ownership in xAI Holdings, worth about $60 billion; and his controlling influence in Tesla, which remains the crown jewel of his financial empire. xAI Holdings emerged from the merger of Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI with the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which Musk acquired in 2022.
This integration has significantly increased the company’s valuation, adding billions more to his net worth. The future could be even more remarkable. Tesla’s board of directors has recently proposed a new compensation package that, if approved, would grant Musk stock options valued at up to $1 trillion, potentially making him the first individual in history to reach the trillion-dollar mark.
