By Shahzaib • Thu Oct 02 2025
Elon Musk has set a new record by becoming the first individual in history to surpass a personal fortune of $500 billion. The surge comes on the back of rising valuations for Tesla, his artificial intelligence company xAI, and his space venture SpaceX.
According to financial trackers, Musk’s wealth briefly touched $500.1 billion on Wednesday before dipping slightly below that figure later in the day. Even so, the Tesla chief comfortably remains the world’s richest person, leaving competitors far behind.
The closest challenger, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, holds an estimated fortune of $350.7 billion. Ellison temporarily overtook Musk last month after Oracle shares jumped over 40%, thanks to optimism surrounding its cloud and AI business.
Musk’s fortune is largely tied to his more than 12% stake in Tesla. The company’s stock has climbed over 20% so far this year, with a 3.3% boost in trading on Wednesday alone. Investors have responded positively to Musk devoting more attention to his companies rather than political matters.
Tesla’s board has set highly ambitious goals that could see Musk earn a $1 trillion compensation package over the next decade. The targets include:
Musk also recently purchased $1 billion worth of Tesla shares himself, signaling strong personal confidence in the company’s future.
Despite strong growth, Tesla faces stiff competition, particularly from Chinese EV giant BYD. At the same time, the company is gradually positioning itself as more than just an electric carmaker, with plans to expand into artificial intelligence and robotics.