Elon Musk is not only the richest person in the world, but he is now the first to have a net worth that exceeds $400 billion.
The businessman’s assets, which include Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, reached an estimated value of $428 billion as of 2:00 p.m. this Wednesday, according to Forbes estimates.
This makes Musk worth more than any billionaire tracked by Forbes in the nearly four decades of publishing the list of the world’s richest people.
Musk’s net worth increased by $58 billion on Wednesday after Forbes confirmed that SpaceX and its investors agreed to buy back internal shares in a deal that values the rocket company at $350 billion, Bloomberg first reported.
At that valuation, Musk’s 42% stake is estimated to be worth $147 billion, an increase of more than 60% from SpaceX’s last offer, which valued the company at $210 billion earlier this year. .
This new valuation makes SpaceX the most valuable private company in the world, surpassing ByteDance (owner of TikTok), OpenAI (creator of ChatGPT) and the payments giant Stripe.
“The really incredible thing is that almost no investors wanted to sell shares even with a valuation of 350 billion! SpaceX reduced the amount of shares it bought from employees to allow some new investors to come in,” Musk wrote in X, a company in which he has approximately 75%.
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It’s another milestone in a golden year for Musk, whose net wealth has increased by more than $150 billion since Jan. 1, 2024. This is due, in part, to SpaceX’s skyrocketing valuation, but also his 13% stake. in Tesla (not including options), which accounts for the majority of his net wealth.
His stake is now worth almost $170 billion. Additionally, Musk is estimated to own 54% of artificial intelligence startup xAI, which private investors valued at $50 billion in November 2024.
Tesla shares have risen more than 70% since the November 5 presidential election.
Musk has developed an increasingly close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars and numerous hours into his campaign and the Cabinet nominations process.
Read: Musk joins the fight between Trump and Trudeau; calls the premier ‘unbearable stupid’
Elon is also expected to play a role in the new administration as co-chair of the planned Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will advise on ways to reduce federal government spending. This department could have influence on regulations affecting Musk’s companies.
Not everything has been good news for Musk
In early 2024, a Delaware judge voided Musk’s 2018 deal to receive options equal to an additional 9% of Tesla, then valued at about $56 billion.
The same judge reaffirmed that decision last week, even though Tesla shareholders voted in June to re-approve the option compensation package for Musk.
Read: xAI, Elon Musk’s AI startup, raises $6 billion in equity financing
Forbes has discounted the value of those options by 50% while Musk appeals the decision, giving them an adjusted value of almost $60 billion.
After alternating between first and second place as the richest person on the planet in recent years, Musk is now worth about $180 billion more than the world’s second-richest person, Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos.
French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault, whose fortune has declined this year, previously held the title of the world’s richest person and overtook Musk in January when Tesla shares weakened. In late May, thanks to a rally in Tesla shares, Musk once again became the richest person in the world and has held that title ever since.
Thanks to the skyrocketing value of SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI, Musk could remain the richest person in the world for the foreseeable future, given the large gap between Musk and Bezos. If his wealth continues to grow at the rate of 2024, which is unlikely, he could become a billionaire by the end of the decade.
This article was originally published by Forbes US
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