Elon Musk briefly hits $500B, cementing status as world’s richest man

Elon Musk has once again made history, if only for a few hours.

According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire index, the Tesla and SpaceX chief briefly became the world’s first person to cross the half-trillion-dollar mark, with his net worth touching $500.1 billion on Wednesday before slipping back to just under $499 billion later in the day.

The milestone reflects strong gains in Tesla’s stock this year, alongside rising valuations for his other ventures including artificial intelligence startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX.

Musk’s wealth remains far ahead of his nearest rival, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who is currently valued at about $350 billion. While the figure has since dipped, the brief crossing underscores Musk’s dominance in global tech and business.

His financial future could swell even further, with Tesla’s board dangling a potential $1 trillion pay package tied to ambitious goals like selling a million AI robots and another 12 million cars.