According to Forbes, Elon Musk was the first person in the world to reach a net worth of $300 billion in 2021; $400 billion in 2024; $500 billion in October 2025; $600 billion in mid-December 2025; $700 billion later that month; $800 billion in February 2026; and $900 billion and a projected $1 trillion ($1,000 billion) in June 2026 with SpaceX’s initial public offering.
Musk’s Tesla payment plan, worth up to a trillion dollars, was approved in November 2025, and he will receive it over 10 years, provided he meets certain goals.
What is Elon Musk’s net worth?
Elon Musk is the richest person in the world, with a confirmed net worth of US$971 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and US$982 billion according to Forbes in June 2026, primarily due to his ownership stakes in SpaceX and Tesla.
Musk first appeared on the Forbes list of billionaires in 2012, and as of November 2020, Tesla stock accounted for more than 75% of his net worth, despite describing himself as “cash poor”.
Elon Musk Sources of Wealth
In November 2020, Tesla stock accounted for about 75% of Musk’s wealth, which fell to about 37% by December 2022, after the company sold nearly $40 billion worth of stock since the end of 2021.
Musk doesn’t get paid by Tesla; In 2018, he agreed with management on a compensation scheme that ties his personal earnings to Tesla’s valuation and revenue.
The agreement stipulated that Musk would only be compensated if Tesla reached certain market levels. It was the largest transaction ever conducted between a CEO and the company’s management.
In the first award, awarded in May 2020, he had the right to buy 1.69 million Tesla shares (about 1% of the company) at below-market prices, totaling over $800 million.
In January 2024, Judge Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware ruled in a 2018 lawsuit that Musk’s $55 billion Tesla salary contract should be voided. McCormick described the salary awarded by the company’s board of directors as an “unprecedented sum” that was unfair to shareholders.
In response to the ruling, Musk wrote on X“Never start your company in the state of Delaware.”
A shareholder re-ratification vote was passed in mid-June 2024, agreeing to move Tesla’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas, although further litigation is expected, including a lawsuit filed earlier by a Tesla investor who claimed Musk used “coercive tactics” to sway the vote in his favor. In December 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court overturned McCormick’s conviction, reinstated Musk’s salary, and awarded nominal damages of $1.
How did Elon Musk get his wealth?
Elon Musk earned $175.8 million when PayPal was sold to eBay in October 2002. He first appeared on the Forbes list of billionaires in 2012, with a net worth of $2 billion.
Musk paid $455 million in taxes on $1.52 billion in earnings between 2014 and 2018. According to ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative media group, Musk paid no federal income taxes in 2018. He indicated that he is projected to pay $12 billion in taxes for 2021, based on the sale of $14 billion worth of Tesla stock.
Musk consistently defines himself as “cash poor” and “declares he has little interest in the material attributes of wealth.” In May 2020, he promised to sell almost all of his material assets. Musk has justified his wealth by claiming that he is hoarding resources for humanity’s advancement into space.
As of early 2020, Musk’s net worth was $27 billion. By the end of the year, his net worth had increased by $150 billion, primarily thanks to his holding of around 20% of Tesla shares.
During that time, Musk’s net worth was often unpredictable. For example, on September 8, it fell by $16.3 billion, which at the time was the biggest one-day drop in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
In November of that year, Musk became the third richest person in the world, overtaking Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg; a week later, he surpassed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the second richest.
On January 7, 2021, with a net worth of $285 billion, Musk surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the richest person in the world. Bezos regained the top spot on February 16, 2021.
On September 27, 2021, after Tesla shares soared, Forbes announced that Musk has a net worth of more than $190 billion and is the richest person in the world.
In November 2021, Musk became the first individual to have a net worth of more than $300 billion.
Musk’s net worth decreased by $100 billion on December 30, 2022, making him the first person in history to do so, as confirmed by Guinness World Records in January 2023.
On December 13, 2022, Bernard Arnault’s net worth surpassed Musk’s, making Musk the second richest individual. Musk regained the title on June 1, 2023.
In January 2024, Musk became the second richest person in the world after Bernard Arnault’s net worth surpassed his, but Musk’s net worth quickly surpassed Arnault’s again.
On March 5, 2024, Bezos currently surpassed Musk as the richest person in the world (until March 7, when Arnault surpassed Bezos). From May 28 to June 6, 2024, Musk again surpassed Arnault.
Arnault regained the lead on June 6, 2024, but was overtaken by Bezos on June 11, 2024. Musk topped the list starting on June 18, 2024, and remained there until a brief hiatus in 2025.
Elon Musk’s net worth skyrocketed after the 2024 US presidential election, and in December 2024, he became the first individual with a net worth of more than $400 billion.
The United States federal government, SpaceX’s main customer, has signed contracts worth $20 billion through November 2024.
Musk’s association with the second Trump administration sparked controversy, causing his net worth to drop $126 billion between December 2024 and March 2025.
On September 10, 2025, Larry Ellison’s net worth instantly (for a few hours) eclipsed Musk’s, making Musk the second richest person in the world.
Musk is expected to become the first individual with a confirmed net worth of more than a trillion dollars ($1,000 billion) when SpaceX goes public on June 12, 2026.
