Elon Musk, the world’s richest individual, has crossed a new financial milestone that places him halfway to becoming the planet’s first trillionaire. According to Forbes, the Tesla and SpaceX chief briefly saw his net worth rise to $500.1 billion on Wednesday before slipping back to $499.1 billion, as tracked by the publication’s “Real-Time Billionaires” index.
The 54-year-old billionaire’s fortune surged following a rebound in Tesla shares, recovering from months of turbulence linked to his controversial political forays. The gains also reflect the broader success of his companies, including the continued growth of SpaceX.
Musk leads the Forbes list ahead of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who sits at $350.7 billion, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg at $245.8 billion.
His journey to this extraordinary level of wealth began after studies at the University of Pennsylvania and a short-lived stint at Stanford University. Musk made his first fortune in 1999 when Compaq acquired his online publishing software company for over $300 million. His next venture merged into PayPal, and after exiting, he went on to launch SpaceX in 2002. Two years later, he joined Tesla as chairman, guiding it into one of the world’s most valuable carmakers.
Now, with half a trillion dollars to his name, Musk remains on track to potentially become the world’s first trillionaire — a prospect that underscores both his influence and the remarkable trajectory of modern tech entrepreneurship.
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