December 12, 2024 – Since Donald Trump’s victory in the election last month, the wealth of Elon Musk, now aged 53, has continued to surge. He has become the first person in the world to break through the $400 billion net worth mark, once again setting a new record for wealth.
The recent significant increase in Musk’s wealth is primarily attributed to an internal share sale at his privately-held company, SpaceX. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, this transaction has boosted his net worth by approximately 50billion.Additionally,Tesla′ssharepricereachedanall−timehighonWednesday,directlypushingMusk′spersonalwealthto447 billion.
Musk’s single-day wealth growth of 62.8billionalsomarksthehighesteverrecordedincreaseinpersonalwealthinoneday.Thisgrowthhascontributedtothetotalwealthoftheworld′s500richestpeopleexceeding10 trillion for the first time. According to World Bank statistics, the current net worth of this group is equivalent to the combined gross domestic product of Germany, Japan, and Australia last year.
Since the beginning of 2024, Musk’s net worth has increased by approximately 218billion,morethananyothermemberofthiselitegroup.Teslastocks,whichconstitutetheprimarysourceofMusk′swealth,haverisenby71424.77 on Wednesday, setting a new record high since 2021.
Market expectations are widespread that the Trump administration will streamline the review process for autonomous vehicles and eliminate tax credits for electric cars, which have benefited Tesla’s competitors. This has partly buoyed Tesla’s share price. Furthermore, Musk is poised to play a pivotal role in the new government as the co-head of the newly established Government Efficiency Department. Although this department will operate outside the government, it will grant Musk influence in Washington and enable direct communication with the president’s office.
Meanwhile, according to a November report by The Wall Street Journal, the valuation of Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has more than doubled to $50 billion since its last funding round in May.
On Wednesday, SpaceX and its investors agreed to acquire 1.25billionworthofsharesfromemployeesandotherinsiders.Thistransactionvaluestheprivately−heldspaceexplorationcompanyatapproximately350 billion, making it the most valuable private startup in the world. A significant portion of the company’s revenue comes from contracts with the US government, and it is likely to receive even more support under the Trump administration.
Jared Isaacman, the billionaire technology executive nominated by Trump as the new administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), completed the first commercial space walk on a SpaceX chartered flight in September. He invested $27.5 million in SpaceX through his payment company in 2021 and praised the company as “the most innovative and impressive organization I have ever seen.”
Last week, a Delaware judge overturned Tesla’s 2018 Musk compensation package, which is currently worth over $100 billion, for the second time. Tesla has stated that it will appeal this decision, while Musk called the ruling “absolute corruption” on X (formerly Twitter). Even if Musk’s massive compensation is ultimately recovered, he is still likely to remain the world’s richest person.
