Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has made history as the first person to surpass a net worth of $500bn (£370.9bn), driven by the sharp rise in the value of Tesla and his other businesses this year.
His wealth briefly peaked at $500.1bn on Wednesday afternoon in New York before slipping slightly to just over $499bn later in the day, according to Forbes’ billionaires index.
In addition to Tesla, the valuations of his other businesses, including the artificial intelligence startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX, have also risen in recent months.
This milestone further strengthens Musk’s position as the world’s richest person, far ahead of his rivals in the global tech industry.
Forbes’ billionaire index ranks Oracle founder Larry Ellison as the world’s second-richest person, with an estimated fortune of about $350.7bn.
Ellison briefly overtook Musk last month after Oracle’s stock jumped more than 40%, driven by the company’s unexpectedly strong outlook for its cloud infrastructure operations and AI partnerships.
Musk’s vast fortune is largely tied to his more than 12% ownership in Tesla, which has seen its stock price climb significantly this year.
By the close of trading in New York on Wednesday, Tesla shares were up more than 3.3% and have gained over 20% since the start of the year.
The stock’s rise in recent months has been attributed in part to investor optimism over Musk devoting more time to his companies rather than politics.
Earlier this year, he faced backlash for his role in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency tasked with cutting US government spending and eliminating jobs.
Musk, who also owns the X social media platform, has been outspoken on topics such as immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm said in September that Musk is now “front and centre” at the company.
The board also revealed that Musk could secure a compensation package exceeding $1tn if he achieves a set of ambitious targets over the next decade.
To unlock that package, he would need to increase Tesla’s valuation eightfold, sell one million AI-powered robots, deliver an additional 12 million Tesla vehicles, and meet several other benchmarks.
Last month, Musk also disclosed that he had purchased about $1bn worth of Tesla stock, which some investors interpreted as a strong show of confidence in the company.
Tesla, however, has faced numerous challenges in recent years, including fierce competition from electric vehicle rivals such as China’s BYD.
The company is currently transitioning into a broader AI and robotics-focused enterprise.
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