Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has reached nearly halfway to becoming the planet’s first trillionaire, Forbes magazine reported. The billionaire’s net worth reached an astonishing $500.1 billion on Wednesday, marking a historic moment before it slightly dipped to $499.1 billion, according to the magazine’s “Real-Time Billionaires” tracker.
However, on Thursday, Musk’s net worth was hovering slightly lower at $499.1 billion.
Musk, at 54, became the first person in history to achieve a net worth of $500 billion. His wealth surge comes primarily from the rebound of Tesla shares, following a tumultuous period marked by his controversial involvement in politics. This recovery, combined with other gains, has propelled him toward trillionaire status.
Forbes’ list shows Oracle CEO Larry Ellison trailing Musk with a net worth of $350.7 billion, followed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at $245.8 billion.
Musk’s path to fortune began after he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and briefly attended Stanford University before dropping out. He made his first fortune in 1999 when he sold an online publishing software company to Compaq for over $300 million.
His ventures continued with the merger of his company into PayPal, and he later founded SpaceX in 2002, followed by his involvement with Tesla in 2004.
As his wealth grows, Musk continues to expand his influence, cementing his place as a key figure in the tech and space industries.