Elon Musk is getting closer to making history as the world’s first trillionaire after his wealth briefly topped $500 billion this week.
On Wednesday, October 1, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s net worth hit $500.1 billion before settling at $499.1 billion, according to Forbes‘ Real-Time Billionaires tracker.
The jump came from a rally in Tesla shares and strong performance across his business empire, even as his political involvement continues drawing scrutiny.
At 54, Musk holds a commanding lead as the planet’s richest person. Oracle’s Larry Ellison sits in second place with $350.7 billion, while Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg comes third at $245.8 billion.
Musk’s massive wealth stems from decades of ambitious ventures and calculated risks.
After studying at the University of Pennsylvania, and a brief stint at Stanford, he sold his first company, an online publishing software startup, to Compaq for over $300 million in 1999.
He then co-founded what would become PayPal before launching SpaceX in 2002 and joining Tesla as chairman in 2004.
Both companies now form the backbone of his fortune, with Tesla’s electric vehicle dominance and SpaceX’s space exploration breakthroughs driving billions in value.
The $500 billion milestone puts Musk in uncharted territory, with financial analysts now seriously discussing whether he could become the first person to reach a trillion-dollar net worth, a feat never before achieved in human history.
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