New York
CNN
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The richest particular person on this planet simply hit an excellent larger milestone.
Elon Musk’s internet value has reached $400 billion, in keeping with Bloomberg, making him the primary particular person ever to cross that mark.
Behind his almost $20 billion soar in wealth was a deal that shot up Musk’s rocket firm SpaceX’s valuation to roughly $350 billion, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. SpaceX and its traders agreed to buy as a lot as $1.25 billion of insider shares.
CNN has reached out to SpaceX for remark, however the firm usually doesn’t reply to media requests.
Since the aftermath of the 2024 US presidential election, Musk has loved an enormous surge in his private wealth.
An alliance with President-elect Donald Trump has pushed his ventures to the forefront. Musk is the chief government of Tesla and SpaceX, in addition to the proprietor of X and CEO of different ventures, together with Neuralink, xAI and the Boring Company. Now, together with Vivek Ramaswamy, he’ll oversee a brand new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), named after a memecoin.
Tesla shares closed at a report excessive on Wednesday, hitting $424.77 at market shut. Musk, who’s Tesla’s largest particular person shareholder, has additionally loved the inventory propelling larger partially as a result of broader market — NASDAQ topped 20,000 for the primary time ever Wednesday. Since Election Day, the EV maker’s inventory has rallied roughly 65% on traders’ perception that Musk’s affect within the Trump administration will usher in an period of deregulation that may profit the corporate.
His synthetic intelligence startup, xAI, additionally greater than doubled in worth in November amid a brand new funding spherical, surging to $50 billion from a couple of months in the past, in keeping with the Wall Street Journal.
The world’s wealthiest man is now roughly $136 billion richer since November 5, in keeping with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
While the highest spots on the billionaires index usually swap round, Musk is racing previous his rich friends. As of December 10, earlier than his wealth skyrocketed to $400 billion, he was already $140 billion richer than the second-richest man on Earth, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Musk’s record-breaking Tesla-shareholder-approved pay bundle, which was value $101 billion, was rejected by a Delaware courtroom final week.
Bloomberg’s calculation nonetheless appears to incorporate the pay bundle, which is now value as a lot as $120 billion based mostly on the present worth of Tesla shares.
But Musk will nonetheless take pleasure in his riches, with quite a few methods to realize considerably extra wealth within the coming years.