Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is now halfway to becoming the planet’s first trillionaire, according to Forbes.
The 54-year-old Tesla and SpaceX chief briefly crossed the $500 billion milestone on Wednesday before his net worth dipped slightly.
Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires tracker reported that Musk’s fortune hit $500.1 billion before sliding back to $499.1 billion by day’s end.
His wealth surge came as Tesla shares rebounded following months of political controversies and setbacks. The billionaire’s financial growth underscores his dominance in both the EV and space industries.
Who trails Musk in billionaire rankings
Trailing behind Musk on the Forbes list is Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder, with a net worth of $350.7 billion, followed by Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, at $245.8 billion.
This gap highlights Musk’s unprecedented lead in the billionaire race, with more than $150 billion separating him from his closest competitor.
From Startup sales to SpaceX and Tesla
Born in South Africa, Musk moved to the U.S. to study at the University of Pennsylvania before briefly enrolling at Stanford University, which he soon left to pursue entrepreneurship.
He earned his first millions in 1999 by selling his online publishing software company to Compaq for over $300 million. He later co-founded what became PayPal, before launching SpaceX in 2002 and joining Tesla in 2004, cementing his legacy as one of tech’s most influential figures.
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