Elon Musk Surpasses $500 Billion, Cements Place as World’s Richest

Elon Musk net worth has crossed the $500 billion mark, making him the first person in history to reach half a trillion dollars.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder’s fortune climbed sharply on Wednesday, October 1, as reported by Forbes’ billionaires index.

This new achievement cements Musk’s position as the world’s richest man, once again overtaking Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

For a brief period in September, Ellison’s soaring Oracle shares pushed him ahead.

However, Musk has quickly regained the crown, with Ellison now standing at $350.7 billion.

The Tesla boss and owner of social platform X saw the value of his companies climb rapidly in recent weeks.

Tesla shares alone have risen more than 20% over the past year, boosting his 12% stake to enormous new levels.

“He is back front and centre of Tesla,” company chair Robyn Denholm said, welcoming Musk’s renewed focus on business operations.

Moreover, the billionaire is now on track to become the world’s first trillionaire.

If Tesla meets its ambitious goals, Musk could secure a massive payout.

These goals include selling one million AI robots, another 12 million Tesla cars, and increasing the company’s overall value nearly eight-fold.

Investors have responded positively to these prospects, viewing them as strong indicators of long-term growth.

In addition to Tesla, Musk continues to lead space exploration company SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI.

Meanwhile, his earlier controversies in politics appear to have quieted.

Many investors were concerned after his involvement with Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aimed to slash jobs and spending.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and briefly attending Stanford, he sold his first company, Zip2, to Compaq for $300 million in 1999.

He later co-founded an online bank that evolved into PayPal, which was eventually acquired by eBay.

In 2002, he founded SpaceX, and by 2008, he had become the CEO of Tesla.

Therefore, Musk’s journey from a young entrepreneur to the world’s richest man shows how vision, risk-taking, and innovation can reshape entire industries.