Elon Musk may be on track to become the world’s first trillionaire, with his net worth currently estimated at $850 billion as of February 2026. Earlier this month, he became the first individual to cross the $800 billion mark, further widening the gap between himself and other top billionaires.
To put the scale into perspective, Musk’s wealth now exceeds the combined net worth of Google co-founders Larry Page ($251 billion) and Sergey Brin ($231 billion), along with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($219 billion).
SpaceX–xAI deal drives surge
A significant boost to Musk’s fortune has come from the recent merger between SpaceX and xAI. According to CNBC, SpaceX acquired Musk’s artificial intelligence and social media venture xAI in a deal valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion.
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Musk reportedly owns around 43 per cent of the merged company. Based on the valuation, his stake alone would be worth more than $530 billion. SpaceX now accounts for nearly two-thirds of his total wealth.
The merger, however, comes at a time when xAI is facing investigations across Europe, Asia, Australia and California in the US. The scrutiny follows concerns over Grok’s image generator, which allegedly enabled the creation of explicit deepfake images involving women and children.
What could push him past $1 trillion?
Prediction market platform Kalshi estimates a 75 per cent chance that Musk will reach trillionaire status this year. Data from traders suggests strong confidence: 86 per cent believe it will happen next year, while 72 per cent expect it before 2027.
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As per a report by the Hindustan Times, one major trigger could be a potential SpaceX initial public offering. Analysts suggest that a successful IPO could lift Musk’s net worth to as high as $1.5 trillion.
Tesla continues to remain central to his fortune. Musk holds a 12 per cent stake in the company valued at $178 billion, along with stock options worth approximately $124 billion. Additionally, Tesla shareholders approved a record pay package in November that could potentially grant him up to $1 trillion in additional stock over time, Hindustan Times reported.
