He’s the first person in the world whose net worth is $439 billion and no prizes for guessing who he is: Elon Musk no less.
Bloomberg says the milestone was crossed after a surge in the stock price of Tesla and a recent valuation boost for SpaceX, which is now valued at around $350 billion following a private share transaction.
Bloomberg says his stake in SpaceX, which is estimated at around 42%, has majorly contributed to his financial leap.
Tesla’s market capitalisation is now $1.315 trillion, which has played a crucial role in boosting his wealth. His artificial intelligence venture xAI has also seen its valuation double to $50 billion this year.
Musk’s financial surge coincides with his political rise as a vocal and visible supporter of President-elect Donald Trump. He not only contributed a quarter of a million dollars to the Trump campaign fund, but personally appeared at his rallies to make a forceful endorsement of Trump.
Two years ago, Musk’s net worth had fallen by $200 billion but his political role has helped. Bloomberg notes that Tesla stock rose by around 65% just before the election, with the markets anticipating the decks being cleared for the rollout on American roads of electric self-driving cars.
There could also be an end to the tax credits that have helped drive Tesla’s EV rivals, says the Bloomberg report.
On Wednesday SpaceX and its investors struck a deal purchasing $1.25 billion worth of shares from employees and company insiders, valuing the privately held company at $350 billion. The deal makes SpaceX the most valuable start-up in the world.
There’s some icing on the cake: in a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that any person or company investing $1 billion or more in the US “would receive fully expedited approvals and permits including but in no way limited to all environmental approvals. Get ready to rock”
