New York
CNN
—
The richest person in the world just hit an even higher milestone.
Elon Musk’s net worth has reached $400 billion, according to Bloomberg, making him the first person ever to cross that mark.
Behind his nearly $20 billion jump in wealth was a deal that shot up Musk’s rocket company SpaceX’s valuation to roughly $350 billion, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. SpaceX and its investors agreed to purchase as much as $1.25 billion of insider shares.
CNN has reached out to SpaceX for comment, but the company typically does not respond to media requests.
Since the aftermath of the 2024 US presidential election, Musk has enjoyed a huge surge in his personal wealth.
An alliance with President-elect Donald Trump has pushed his ventures to the forefront. Musk is the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the owner of X and CEO of other ventures, including Neuralink, xAI and the Boring Company. Now, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, he will oversee a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), named after a memecoin.
Tesla shares closed at a record high on Wednesday, hitting $424.77 at market close. Musk, who is Tesla’s largest individual shareholder, has also enjoyed the stock propelling higher in part due to the broader market — NASDAQ topped 20,000 for the first time ever Wednesday. Since Election Day, the EV maker’s stock has rallied roughly 65% on investors’ belief that Musk’s influence in the Trump administration will usher in an era of deregulation that will benefit the company.
posted by their mother, Maye. Elon Musk was born June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. His mother is a model and nutritionist. His father, Errol, is an engineer.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1985″ width=”2000″/>
Maye Musk wrote in her book “A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty and Success.” When Elon was 12, he wrote code for a video game called “Blastar” and sold it to a computer magazine for $500.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1195″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
the first commercial spacecraft to orbit the Earth and return. In 2012, it became the first private capsule to connect to the International Space Station.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2289″ width=”3294″ loading=’lazy’/>
he laid out his plan to colonize Mars. He was speaking at the International Astronautical Congress, a meeting of multiple international space-exploration associations.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2134″ width=”3336″ loading=’lazy’/>
launched the Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful rocket.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2132″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
talking to podcast host Joe Rogan about what it’s like inside his head (“a never-ending explosion”), keeping a car company in business (“very difficult”) and trying to get governments to regulate artificial intelligence (“nobody listened”).” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3123″ width=”4684″ loading=’lazy’/>
demonstrates his Boring Company’s first tunnel. It was built as an experiment in underground transportation, with the aim of providing alternative routes to traffic-jammed streets.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2667″ width=”4000″ loading=’lazy’/>
were able to reach a settlement.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2667″ width=”4000″ loading=’lazy’/>
reveals Tesla’s new electric pickup truck in 2019. A demonstration of the Cybertruck’s supposedly unbreakable windows backfired, however, when a metal ball thrown at the windows did, in fact, break them.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1468″ width=”2294″ loading=’lazy’/>
did not defame a British caver when he sent a tweet calling him a “pedo guy.” Defense lawyer Alex Spiro said Musk’s tweet “was a joking, deleted, apologized for, responsive tweet.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2667″ width=”4000″ loading=’lazy’/>
started delivering its Shanghai-made Model 3 cars to the public, the first step in Musk’s much bolder plan for the world’s biggest market.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2450″ width=”3675″ loading=’lazy’/>
this tweet posted by his mother in May 2020. The baby, named X Æ A-12, is his first child with Grimes. He has five other children from a previous marriage.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2277″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the manned Crew Dragon spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in May 2020. It marked the first time in history that a commercial aerospace company carried humans into Earth’s orbit.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1440″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Musk hosted the show.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
new Tesla factory in Grünheide, Germany, in March 2022. Tesla will reportedly produce as many as 500,000 vehicles a year at the plant.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1433″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
carrying a sink as he enters Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters in October 2022. He wrote, “Entering Twitter HQ — let that sink in!” He eventually completed his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1700″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
the talk in London, which dove into the dangers and opportunities of AI. “AI will be a force for good most likely,” Musk said. “But the probability of it going bad is not zero percent.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
he lashed out at advertisers leaving his platform because of rising antisemitism on X. “I don’t want them to advertise,” he said. “If someone is going to blackmail me with advertising or money, go f**k yourself. Go. F**k. Yourself. Is that clear?”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2099″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
gives a tour to Trump and lawmakers who were in Brownsville, Texas, to watch the sixth test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, in November 2024.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″/>
was also in attendance.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>
In pictures: Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk
His artificial intelligence startup, xAI, also more than doubled in value in November amid a new funding round, surging to $50 billion from a few months ago, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The world’s wealthiest man is now roughly $136 billion richer since November 5, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
While the top spots on the billionaires index typically switch around, Musk is racing past his wealthy peers. As of December 10, before his wealth skyrocketed to $400 billion, he was already $140 billion richer than the second-richest man on Earth, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Musk’s record-breaking Tesla-shareholder-approved pay package, which was worth $101 billion, was rejected by a Delaware court last week.
Bloomberg’s calculation still seems to include the pay package, which is now worth as much as $120 billion based on the current value of Tesla shares.
But Musk will still enjoy his riches, with numerous ways to gain significantly more wealth in the coming years.
