Elon MuskThe latest milestone for the world’s richest man, whose wealth has turbocharged since President-elect Donald Trump’s victory last month, became the first to reach $400 billion.
The most recent catalyst was the sale of its privately held insider shares. SpaceXAccording to , that added nearly $50 billion to Musk’s net worth. Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Tesla Inc. Shares also hit new highs on Wednesday, pushing Musk’s wealth to $447 billion.
According to the index, Musk’s one-day wealth increase of $62.8 billion is the largest on record, and helped push the combined fortunes of the world’s 500 richest people above $10 trillion for the first time. , according to the index. According to data compiled by the World Bank, the group’s net worth is about the size of the combined gross domestic products of Germany, Japan and Australia last year.
Musk has added nearly $218 billion to his net worth since the start of 2024, more than any other member of the group. Tesla The shares, which make up the bulk of Musk’s fortune, are up 71 percent this year and closed at $424.77 on Wednesday, their first high since 2021.
Expectations that Trump will streamline the rollout of self-driving cars and end electric vehicle tax credits that help the company’s rivals have helped boost Tesla’s stock. Musk is also expected to play a key role in the new administration as co-chairman of the new administration. Department of Government Performance. While it will operate outside of government, it gives him a bully pulpit in Washington and a direct line to the Oval Office.
Meanwhile, its value The dawn of artificial intelligencexAI has more than doubled to $50 billion since it last raised money in May, with the Wall Street Journal reporting in November that Trump’s victory helped spark renewed interest.
On Wednesday, SpaceX and its investors agreed to buy $1.25 billion worth of shares from employees and other company insiders. The deal, which values the privately held space exploration firm at about $350 billion, makes SpaceX the world’s most valuable private startup.
The company makes most of its money on contracts with the U.S. government, and could potentially rely on more support under a. Trump administration. The president-elect praised Musk’s vision of sending astronauts to Mars in campaign speeches, and joined Musk at a SpaceX launch in Texas shortly after the election.
Jared IsaacmanTrump’s pick to head NASA is a billionaire tech executive who made the first commercial spacewalk on a chartered SpaceX launch in September. He praised the company as “the most innovative, literally impressive organization I’ve ever seen” after investing $27.5 million in SpaceX through his payments firm in 2021 last month.
Musk, 53, was handed a piece of bad news last week when a Delaware judge struck down his 2018 Tesla pay package, currently worth more than $100 billion, for the second time. Tesla said it would appeal the decision, which Musk described as “complete corruption” on the X. Even if Musk’s compensation award eventually comes back, he’ll still be the world’s richest man for a long time.