Elon Musk, the world’s richest individual, has donated extra to the Trump marketing campaign than anybody else, forking out some $200 million, and campaigned alongside the president-elect.
Justin Merriman/Bloomberg
Elon Musk, the world’s richest individual, is now the primary individual to have a internet price surpassing $400 billion. His property—the most important of that are Tesla, SpaceX and xAI—are actually price an estimated $428 billion as of two p.m. Wednesday, in accordance with Forbes estimates. That makes Musk price greater than any billionaire Forbes has ever tracked within the almost 4 a long time of publishing a listing of the world’s billionaires.
Musk’s internet price jumped by $58 billion Wednesday after Forbes confirmed that SpaceX and its buyers agreed to purchase again insiders’ shares in a deal valuing the rocket firm at $350 billion and first reported by Bloomberg. At that valuation, Musk’s estimated 42% stake is price $147 billion—up greater than 60% from SpaceX’s final tender provide, which valued the corporate at $210 billion earlier this yr. The new valuation makes SpaceX probably the most precious personal firm on this planet, greater than TikTok mother or father ByteDance, ChatGPT creator OpenAI and funds big Stripe.
“What’s actually loopy about that is that just about no buyers needed to promote shares even at a $350B valuation! SpaceX diminished the quantity of shares it purchased again from staff with a view to enable some new buyers in,” Musk wrote on X—through which he owns an estimated 75% stake—on Wednesday.
It’s one other milestone in a golden yr for Musk, whose internet price is up greater than $150 billion since January 1, 2024. That’s thanks partially to SpaceX’s skyrocketing valuation but additionally to his 13% stake in Tesla (excluding choices), which accounts for almost all of his internet price (his stake is now price almost $170 billion excluding choices), and his estimated 54% stake in synthetic intelligence startup xAI, which personal buyers reportedly valued at $50 billion in November 2024. Shares of the electrical car firm have popped greater than 70% because the November 5 presidential election. CEO Musk has developed an more and more shut relationship to president-elect Trump, pumping a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} and numerous hours into his marketing campaign and cupboard nomination course of. He’s additionally set to have a job within the new administration as co-head of a deliberate Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which can advise on methods to chop the federal authorities’s bills. It might probably play a job concerning rules that have an effect on Musk’s corporations.
It hasn’t been all excellent news for Musk. In early 2024, a Delaware choose voided his 2018 deal to obtain choices equaling a further 9% of Tesla—then price about $56 billion. The similar choose reaffirmed that call final week, regardless of Tesla shareholders voting to reapprove the choices pay package deal for Musk in June. Forbes has discounted the choices by 50% pending Musk’s attraction, giving them a reduced valuation of almost $60 billion.
After transferring out and in of the planet’s No. 1 richest spot in recent times, Musk is now price some $180 billion greater than the world’s second-richest individual, Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos. French luxurious items tycoon Bernard Arnault, whose fortune has slumped this yr, beforehand held the title of world’s richest individual, and overtook Musk in January this yr as Tesla shares weakened. In late May, bolstered by an upswing in Tesla shares, Musk grew to become the world’s richest individual once more and has held onto that title since then.
Thanks to the hovering values of SpaceX, Tesla and xAI, Musk might stay the world’s richest individual for the foreseeable future, given the big hole between Musk and Bezos. If his wealth continues to develop on the charge it has in 2024, which is unlikely, after all, he could possibly be a trillionaire by the top of the last decade.
