Elon Musk Becomes World's First Man to Hit $500 Billion Mark
- Tesla boss Elon Musk, on October 1, briefly became the first man to be worth half a trillion dollars
- His fortune was boosted by the increased value of his other ventures, like the artificial intelligence startup xAI
- Tesla shares were more than 3.3% higher at the end of New York trading day on October 1
Elon Musk has become the first person to cross the $500 billion net-worth mark.
This is because the value of Tesla, his electric car company, and his other businesses have risen in 2025.
Source: Getty Images
Musk's net worth briefly reached $500.1bn on October 1 before dipping slightly to just over $499bn later in the day, according to Forbes' billionaires index.
BBC reported that alongside Tesla, valuations of his other ventures, including the artificial intelligence startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX, have also reportedly climbed in recent months.
The milestone further cements Musk's status as the world's richest person, well ahead of rivals in the global tech sector.
According to Forbes' billionaires index, Oracle founder Larry Ellison is the world's second richest person, with a fortune of about $350.7bn.
Ellison briefly overtook Musk last month after shares in Oracle soared by more than 40%, boosted by the firm's surprisingly rosy outlook for its cloud infrastructure business and artificial intelligence (AI) deals.
Musk's huge wealth is closely tied to his more than 12% stake in Tesla, which has seen its shares rise sharply.
Tesla shares were more than 3.3% higher at the end of New York trading on Wednesday and have now risen by over 20% this year.
In September, Musk announced that he had bought about $1bn worth of Tesla shares in what has been seen by some investors as a vote of confidence in the firm.
Tesla has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including tough competition from rival electric car makers such as China's BYD.
The company is also in the process of transitioning into an AI and robotics business.
Tesla approves $29 bn in shares to Musk
In August 2025, Tesla announced a compensation award to Musk worth about $29 billion.
The company said the award was necessary to retain the controversial CEO at a moment of fierce competition for top talent.
The electric vehicle maker said in a statement it will award a distribution of 96 million Tesla shares to Musk as it "intends to compensate its CEO for his future services commensurate with his contributions to our company and shareholders."
The award comes as Tesla challenges a Delaware court ruling that struck down a 2018 package of about $55.8 billion. With that appeal dragging out, Monday's announcement marks an interim step while the company develops a "longer-term CEO compensation strategy," Tesla said in a letter to shareholders.
"We have recommended this award as a first step, 'good faith' payment," said the letter. "Retaining Elon is more important than ever before."
Source: YEN.com.gh
