Elon Musk’s wealth has skyrocketed by an astonishing $63 billion in a single day, pushing his net worth to $447 billion and making him nearly $200 billion richer than Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
This surge in fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, comes on the back of a significant jump in Tesla’s stock price and a leap in SpaceX’s valuation, which now stands at $350 billion following employee share sales.
Musk’s net worth has seen a meteoric rise this year, increasing by a staggering $218 billion. This increase surpasses the net worth of every other individual on the billionaire list, except for Bezos, who holds a fortune of $249 billion, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, valued at $224 billion.
Musk’s fortune has more than doubled that of Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($198 billion) and is now more than three times the wealth of legendary investor Warren Buffett ($144 billion).
The $63 billion gain in one day, the largest in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is nearly equivalent to the total wealth of Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao ($63.2 billion). This one-day surge has also helped push the combined wealth of the 500 richest individuals on Earth above $10 trillion for the first time.
Musk’s newfound wealth now places him above some of the largest U.S. public companies. His net worth is now higher than that of Costco ($442 billion), Home Depot ($419 billion), and Netflix ($400 billion).
Tesla’s stock has soared by more than 70% this year, closing at $425 per share on Wednesday, bringing the company’s market value to nearly $1.4 trillion—significantly more than the $1 trillion valuation of Berkshire Hathaway, headed by Warren Buffett, and approaching the $1.6 trillion market cap of Meta.
This growth in Tesla’s stock has been fuelled by investor optimism surrounding the company’s potential to revolutionise the electric vehicle market with artificial intelligence technologies such as self-driving cars and humanoid robots.
Musk’s prominent role in Donald Trump’s campaign, where he has emerged as a close advisor and a key figure tasked with streamlining the U.S. government, has further boosted investor confidence in his ventures.
In addition to Tesla, SpaceX has also contributed significantly to Musk’s wealth. The company’s latest valuation of $350 billion, based on the most recent share sales to employees and backers, marks a dramatic rise from its previous valuation of $210 billion in June. SpaceX’s Starlink network, which provides internet access globally, continues to be a key driver of the company’s growth.
Musk’s wealth, though predominantly tied to his 13% stake in Tesla and his 42% stake in SpaceX, is also supported by other ventures, including his artificial intelligence company xAI, the brain-machine interface startup Neuralink, the tunnelling project The Boring Company, and X Corp, the rebranded entity formerly known as Twitter.
Musk’s financial ascent has been nothing short of extraordinary. Just five years ago, in 2019, he was worth approximately $25 billion—around 1/18th of his current fortune. His wealth was below $170 billion as recently as April, and Tesla’s valuation was less than $100 billion during the 2020 Covid market crash, highlighting the dramatic rise in his fortune.
As the wealth of the world’s richest individuals continues to grow, Musk’s success stands as a testament to the transformative impact of his technology ventures. With his innovative leadership and influence extending beyond technology and into politics, Musk’s wealth is expected to keep climbing, cementing his place as one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world.
