Elon Musk Becomes First Person to Surpass $500 Billion Net Worth

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has set a new record, becoming the first individual in history to achieve a net worth of more than $500 billion. According to Forbes’ Billionaires Index, his fortune briefly touched $500.1 billion on Wednesday before dipping slightly to just over $499 billion.

The surge in Musk’s wealth is tied not only to his 12% stake in Tesla, but also to the rising valuations of his other ventures, including SpaceX and the AI startup xAI. Tesla shares alone have climbed more than 20% this year, with a 3.3% jump on Wednesday. Investors have welcomed Musk’s renewed focus on his businesses after months of political controversies.

This milestone secures Musk’s position as the world’s richest person, far ahead of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, whose fortune stands at around $350.7 billion. Ellison briefly overtook Musk last month after Oracle shares spiked more than 40%, driven by optimism around its AI-powered cloud services.

Tesla’s future remains ambitious. The company is evolving beyond electric vehicles, aiming to become a leader in AI and robotics. Musk could also unlock a staggering $1 trillion pay package if Tesla achieves long-term targets such as selling 12 million cars, producing one million AI-powered robots, and increasing the company’s value eightfold.

Musk recently purchased about $1 billion worth of Tesla shares, a move that many see as a strong vote of confidence in the company’s future. Despite facing competition from rivals like China’s BYD, Tesla continues to push forward, with Musk “front and centre” at the company, according to Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm.

With milestones like these, Musk’s journey shows no signs of slowing — and Tesla’s transformation into a broader tech powerhouse may only be beginning.