Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, became the first person in history to reach a net worth of almost $500 billion on Wednesday. This achievement was fueled by a recovery in the EV company's stock and rising valuations of the tech entrepreneur's other startups this year.
His net worth as of 4:15 p.m. E.T. on 1st October was $5001 billion, according to the Forbes Billionaire list. As of September 15, Musk owned more than 12.4% of Tesla, which is closely linked to his 500 billion dollar success. Musk's net worth has increased by more than $6 billion as a result of the stock's 3point 3% gain on Wednesday, which has increased by more than 14% so far this year.
Following a slightly rocky start to the year, investor sentiment regarding Musk returning his attention to his businesses has improved, and Tesla shares have traded higher. Following several months at the White House, Robyn Denholm, the chair of the Tesla board, stated last month that Musk was once again front and center at the company. A few days later, Musk revealed that he had paid roughly $1 billion for the shares, demonstrating his strong belief in Tesla's future as the company strives to transform from an automaker to a leader in robotics and Artificial Intelligence.
Last month, the Tesla board put forth a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk, which would have addressed his demands for a larger share of the company and set ambitious financial and operational goals for the CEO.
This year, Musk has also increased the valuations of his rocket company, SpaceX, and AI startup xAI.
According to data from Pitchbook, xAI last had a valuation of $75 billion as of July. CNBC in September reported the company was targeting a valuation of $200 billion after a fundraise, but Musk stated before that it was not raising any capital at the time.
Bloomberg News reported in July that SpaceX was discussing plans to raise money and sell insider shares in a deal valuing the firm at around $400 billion.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison follows Musk as the second-richest person on Forbes’ list, with a net worth of about $350.7 billion as of Wednesday,1st October
