Elon Musk's Net Worth Crosses $400 Billion Mark

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's net worth has soared past the $400 billion mark, according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list. This remarkable surge can be attributed to a nearly 71% increase in Tesla's stock this year and the escalating valuation of his rocket company, SpaceX.

Musk, who holds about a 13% stake in Tesla, saw the company's shares reach an all-time high of $424.9 on Wednesday. This rally began following the November 5 election, further boosting Musk's wealth.

Additionally, Musk's net worth received a boost from an insider share sale at SpaceX. As reported by Bloomberg News, SpaceX and its investors agreed to purchase up to $1.25 billion of its common shares. In a reply to a post on X, Musk commented on the high valuation, stating that "almost no investors wanted to sell shares even at a $350B valuation!" He also mentioned that SpaceX has reduced the number of shares it bought back from employees to bring in new investors.

Investors are hopeful that Musk's relationship with President-elect Donald Trump will benefit Tesla. Musk, who spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump win the election, also heads brain technology startup Neuralink. Both SpaceX and Neuralink, which rely heavily on government regulation and policy, could potentially benefit from a business-friendly administration.

Musk's other ventures include social media site X and tunnel builder The Boring Company. Following Musk on the billionaires list are Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with a net worth of $243.7 billion and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison with a net worth of $223.4 billion.