Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, achieved a historic milestone on Tuesday, with his net worth soaring to a record $500 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This makes him the first individual in history to reach such a level of wealth.
Musk leads several high-profile ventures, including Tesla, the world’s most valuable automaker specializing in electric vehicles and solar energy, and SpaceX, a private aerospace company contracted by NASA to supply the International Space Station. He also owns X, formerly Twitter, and heads Neuralink, xAI, and The Boring Company.
Bloomberg notes that Musk owns roughly 13% of Tesla, as per the company’s 2024 proxy statement, along with around 304 million exercisable stock options granted through his 2018 compensation package. Musk also owns about 42% of SpaceX, which was valued at nearly $350 billion in a December 2024 tender offer, based on a December 2022 FCC filing and Bloomberg’s dilution analysis.
In addition, Musk holds a 79% stake in X Corp., the platform formerly known as Twitter, which he acquired for $44 billion in 2022. Since then, its value has reportedly declined by approximately 72%, based on Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund’s October 2024 assessment.
Musk’s investments in Neuralink, xAI, and The Boring Company are valued using data from funding rounds, PitchBook insights, and news reports, adjusted with a 15% liquidity discount.
Musk’s rise to the top began when Tesla became the world’s most valuable automaker in July 2020, propelling him to the position of the world’s richest person by January 2021. Later that year, he relocated Tesla’s headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas.
In April 2022, Musk announced his intention to acquire Twitter for $44 billion after purchasing a stake in the company. Despite months of legal wrangling, the deal was finalized in October 2022, and Musk subsequently rebranded the company as X Corp. in April 2023.
