Elon Musk has achieved a historic financial milestone, becoming the first individual in the world to amass a personal fortune exceeding $600 billion. This unprecedented wealth surge is primarily fueled by a dramatic increase in the valuation of his private aerospace company, SpaceX.
SpaceX Valuation Skyrockets, Driving Historic Wealth
According to Forbes, Musk's estimated net worth reached $677 billion as of midday Monday. This staggering figure follows a recent tender offer from SpaceX that values the rocket company at a colossal $800 billion. This marks a doubling of its valuation from $400 billion in just a few months since August. Musk owns an estimated 42% stake in SpaceX, and this revised valuation alone has added approximately $168 billion to his personal wealth.
The scale of this achievement is monumental. No other person has ever crossed the $600 billion threshold, nor even reached the $500 billion mark. Musk's current wealth places him closer to becoming the world's first trillionaire than to the planet's second-richest person.
Asset Reshuffle and the Road to a Trillion
The SpaceX boom has fundamentally reshaped the composition of Musk's empire. His stake in the aerospace firm is now his most valuable asset, estimated at $336 billion. In contrast, his roughly 12% holding in Tesla is valued at $197 billion. This calculation excludes stock options from his 2018 CEO award, which were invalidated by a Delaware judge in January 2024. While Musk has appealed, Forbes has discounted their value by 50% to $69 billion pending the court's final decision.
However, Tesla could still be a decisive factor in Musk's quest for trillionaire status. In November, shareholders approved a record pay package that could award him up to $1 trillion in additional Tesla stock before taxes. This is contingent on the company meeting ambitious "Mars shot" performance targets, including increasing its market capitalisation more than eightfold over the next decade.
AI Ambitions and a Meteoric Wealth Trajectory
Musk's financial interests extend beyond rockets and electric cars into artificial intelligence and social media. His entity, xAI Holdings, formed in March by merging AI startup xAI and social platform X (formerly Twitter), is reportedly seeking fresh funding at a valuation of $230 billion. This is more than double the $113 billion cited at the time of the merger. Forbes estimates Musk owns 53% of xAI Holdings, worth around $60 billion.
The journey to this peak has been extraordinarily rapid. In March 2020, Musk's fortune was a comparatively modest $24.6 billion. A surge in Tesla's share price propelled him to become the fifth centi-billionaire by August that year. He first topped the global rich list in January 2021 with nearly $190 billion. His wealth then smashed through successive barriers: $200 billion in September 2021, $300 billion in November 2021, $400 billion in December 2024, and $500 billion in October. Oracle founder Larry Ellison is the only other individual to have reached the $300 billion and $400 billion levels.
Looking ahead, investors indicate that SpaceX is laying the groundwork for a potential public listing in 2026, with a staggering target valuation of around $1.5 trillion. One investor confirmed this IPO target to Forbes, noting that details had been previously reported. Neither Musk nor SpaceX responded to requests for comment from the publication.
