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Elon Musk has added an impressive $120 billion to his fortune this year, further cementing his position as the world’s richest individual, especially as he forms closer ties with President-elect Donald Trump.
Musk’s wealth surged to an astounding $349 billion in 2024, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, fueled by his major stake in Tesla, the world’s most valuable carmaker. Musk owns about 12% of Tesla, as highlighted by Forbes.
Additionally, Musk was awarded a compensation package from Tesla in 2018 worth over $50 billion, though a Delaware judge recently ruled against it. The judge described the package as an “unfathomable sum” that was meant to help Musk “build a better future for humanity.” This follows a similar decision from earlier in the year, prompting Musk to criticize Delaware as a corporate home, sharing his frustration on his social media platform, X.
Musk has pledged to use 58% of his Tesla shares as collateral for personal loans, Bloomberg reports.
In 2022, Musk acquired Twitter (now known as X) for $44 billion. However, Fidelity’s recent valuation puts the social media platform’s worth at just $5.53 million by the end of October, reflecting a steep 72% drop in value since Musk’s acquisition, according to the Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund monthly report.
Musk also controls 54% of xAI, an AI firm he launched in 2023, with its latest valuation pegged at $50 billion. He owns roughly 42% of SpaceX, which was valued at $210 billion in June, and has founded The Boring Company, which focuses on transportation tunnels. The company was valued at $5.68 billion in 2022.
Musk’s Neuralink, a company developing brain-computer interfaces, was valued at $5 billion as of June 2024. Musk recently shared that the first human patient received a Neuralink implant and is recovering well.
In the political sphere, Musk donated $230 million to Trump’s America PAC, a major sum leading up to the presidential election. He made multiple donations totaling $25 million to the super PAC, according to FEC filings. Musk also contributed over $20 million to the controversial RBG PAC in October, which misrepresented late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a supporter of Trump.
Trump has appointed Musk to lead a new government department focused on efficiency, alongside billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. Despite campaigning to improve the economy for the working class, Trump’s administration is filled with billionaires like Musk, making its collective wealth surpass the GDP of over 120 countries.
According to Swiss bank UBS, billionaires have seen their wealth double over the past decade, totaling $14 trillion.
