(The Hill) — Elon Musk, the technology tycoon, temporarily reached a net worth of $500 billion on Wednesday, making him the first individual to achieve this milestone, as reported by Forbes, before it slightly declined.
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX hit the $500 billion benchmark on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires tracker Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday morning, his net worth adjusted to $499.1 billion.
Musk surpasses his nearest rival by nearly $150 billion, leaving Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison in second place. Earlier this month, Ellison briefly became the richest person as his company’s stock surged on strong quarterly performance.
Musk’s wealth is heavily influenced by Tesla’s stock performance, which has fluctuated considerably over the past year. His net worth climbed significantly in late 2024 as Tesla’s stock increased, driven by the expectation that Musk’s enterprises would gain from his association with then-President-elect Donald Trump.
However, Tesla’s stock value dropped when Musk assumed a contentious role at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which also affected his net worth. Both have since recovered following his departure from the White House and refocusing on his ventures.
After several weak sales periods, Tesla experienced a rebound in the third quarter, with a 7.4 percent increase in deliveries compared to last year. The company reported delivering 497,099 cars between July and September, based on new data released Thursday.
The EV maker could eventually turn Musk into the world’s first trillionaire. Tesla has put forward a new pay package for its CEO that would grant him about 423 million shares if the company meets a series of milestones over the next decade. If those goals are met, the shares would be worth about $1 trillion.
Tesla shareholders are set to vote on the pay package in November. It comes as Musk’s 2018 pay package remains tied up in court, after a Delaware judge ruled it wasn’t negotiated fairly.
