Elon Musk Net Worth (Money & Assets)

Wealth: $216 Billion

Income: $0

Date of Birth: Jun 28, 1971 (53 years old)

Place of Birth: Pretoria

Gender: Male

Stature: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)

Occupation: Aerospace Engineer, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Investor, Designer, Businessperson, Inventor, Film Producer

Nationality: South Africa

Elon Musk Wealth Overview

Elon Musk is a Canadian-American entrepreneur, creator, and financier born in South Africa with a total wealth of $216 billion. Elon Musk is currently ranked as the fourth wealthiest individual globally. In November 2021, with his wealth briefly surpassing $340 billion, Elon overtook John D. Rockefeller to become the wealthiest individual in modern history. Elon held the title of the planet’s wealthiest person for most of the period from January 2021 to March 2024, until Jeff Bezos reclaimed the position.
The majority of Elon Musk’s wealth originates from his 13% ownership in Tesla, amounting to approximately 412 million shares. He also holds 304 million exercisable options in Tesla, collectively representing about 21% of the company. Elon has pledged 58% of his Tesla shares as security against $3.5 billion in personal loans. Furthermore, in 2022, he divested $40 billion worth of Tesla shares to facilitate his acquisition of Twitter.

Elon is a co-founder of SpaceX and the Boring Company and serves as the chairman of SolarCity. Elon possesses 43% of SpaceX, which is privately valued at $180 billion. As for the Boring Company, it was reportedly valued at $5 billion during its last valuation round.

In October 2022, Elon purchased Twitter for $44 billion and now retains approximately 79% ownership of the company at an overall valuation of $44 billion. The private valuation of Twitter under his ownership has reportedly decreased, possibly to as low as $19 billion. As previously mentioned, he sold $40 billion worth of Tesla shares in 2022 to aid the Twitter acquisition.

Earnings & 2018 Compensation Strategy

As the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk does not receive a salary. Instead, in 2018, Elon devised an unusual and potentially highly profitable bonus scheme tied to the company’s market cap achievements. At the inception of the plan, Tesla’s valuation was approximately $50 billion. Put simply, under this plan, Elon would receive generous portions of Tesla options, equivalent to 1% of the company, each time the market cap surged by $50 billion and remained at that level for at least three months. The first set of options were granted when Tesla reached a $100 billion market cap. Subsequently, Elon was entitled to additional tranches each time the company gained $50 billion in market cap, up to $600 billion. In essence, if Tesla’s market cap reached $600 billion, Elon would receive options equivalent to 12% of the company. Failure to achieve any of the 12 tranches would result in no compensation. Moreover, there was a 10-year expiration on the agreement.

It took Tesla a year to cross the initial $100 billion level. Two years later, by December 2020, Tesla had surpassed the $600 billion milestone. Notably, within a year, its market cap hit a peak of $1.23 trillion. At that benchmark, Elon’s wealth reached $340 billion. This marked a temporary peak in Elon’s wealth. Tesla’s board confirmed that by reaching the $600 billion cap within ten years, Elon was eligible for the full benefits of his compensation deal. Consequently, around January 2024, he obtained roughly 300 million Tesla options valued at approximately $55 billion. However, this wasn’t the end of the saga for Elon.

Some shareholders expressed discontent over his compensation package. A lawsuit was filed by a shareholder alleging that the package was excessively generous and was granted by a board of directors that was unduly influenced by Elon. On January 30, 2024, a Delaware judge SUPPORTED the shareholder’s claims and effectively nullified his entire compensation arrangement. Although Elon may appeal (which is probable), the board will presumably need to devise a new compensation scheme for his performance spanning from 2018 until the conclusion of 2023.

Early Days

Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. At the age of ten, Musk bought his first computer and taught himself programming. By the time he was 12, he had already made his first software sale with a game he developed called Blaster. In 1989, at the age of 17, he relocated to Canada to pursue studies at Queen’s University, but left in 1992 to pursue business and physics studies at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics, Musk pursued a second bachelor’s degree in physics before embarking on a PhD in energy physics. However, he decided to drop out of Stanford University to participate in the internet boom.

Triumph

Musk’s initial venture, Zip2 Corporation, specialized in online city guides. In 1999, a segment of Compaq Computer acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock options. Concurrently in 1999, Musk co-established X.com, an online financial services/payment platform. Following an acquisition that ensued the year after, X.com evolved into PayPal as it is recognized today. Subsequently in 2002, PayPal was procured by eBay for $1.5 billion in stocks.

In 2002, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) with the mission of manufacturing spacecraft for commercial space travel. By 2008, SpaceX had attained significant recognition, leading to NASA awarding the company the responsibility for cargo transportation to the International Space Station, with plans to extend to astronaut transport in the ensuing years.

Tesla Motors, which is a car manufacturer focused on creating reasonably priced electric vehicles for the mass market, came next. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla’s initial employees were Elon, in addition to the first staff members Ian Wright and J.B. Straubel, subsequently recognized as co-founders.

Daimler secured a share in Tesla, and the company entered a strategic alliance with Toyota. The debut public offering of Tesla Motors occurred in June 2010, generating $226 million. In 2012, Musk and SpaceX reached a milestone by launching the Falcon 9 rocket carrying an unmanned capsule into space. A breakthrough came in 2013 when he unveiled the concept of Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation mode exceeding 700 mph for intercity travel. Unlike conventional train systems, the Hyperloop proposes utilizing tubes for transit. Musk estimates that it could be developed, tested, and operational within 7 to 10 years.

Personal Life

Elon has been married thrice, including two marriages to the same individual – actress Talulah Riley. His initial marriage was to Canadian author Justine Wilson from 2000 to 2008, and they have five sons together. He has also had romantic involvements with actress Amber Heard and Canadian musician Grimes. In May 2020, Grimes and Elon welcomed a son named X Æ A-Xii, followed by a second child born via surrogate in December 2021.

In late 2021, Elon welcomed a pair of twins born to an executive at Neuralink.

In total, he is the father of ten kids.

In December 2021, reports emerged of Elon’s involvement in an affair with the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, leading to Sergey initiating divorce proceedings with his wife of four years, Nicole Shanahan. Sergey had been a longtime supporter of Musk’s ventures, investing in various Tesla companies and being one of the initial backers of Tesla.

Real Estate

Elon formerly possessed real estate valued at $100 million solely in California. In the town of Hillsborough in Northern California, he retains ownership of a 100-year-old, 16,000-square-foot mansion set on nearly 50 acres, purchased for $23.364 million in 2017.

In Southern California, Elon once owned six residences in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. His Bel-Air collection included a 20,000-square-foot property acquired for $17 million in 2012, a 7,000-square-foot abode purchased for $20 million in 2015, and a 9,300-square-foot home acquired in 2016 for $24.25 million. In a surprising move in 2020, Elon declared his decision to divest all his possessions, starting with his Los Angeles houses. He proceeded to sell off each property, with four residences sold collectively to a single buyer in December 2020.

Elon Musk Net Worth History

• Elon began 2020 with a net worth of $28 billion, which escalated to $170 billion by the year’s end.
• On July 13, 2020, Elon’s net worth reached $80 billion for the first time, with $15 billion attributed to SpaceX and $65 billion to Tesla.
• In August 2020, two significant factors propelled Elon’s net worth above $90 billion. Firstly, Tesla stocks surged to an all-time high of $1,900 in mid-August, resulting in a total market capitalization of $350 billion for the company. Elon’s 20% share was valued at $70 billion. The second factor was the enhanced valuation of SpaceX, officially confirmed on August 18, 2020. A fundraising round boosted SpaceX’s private valuation to $46 billion from $36 billion, adding $22 billion to Elon’s net worth pre-tax with his 48% stake.
• On November 17, 2020, Elon’s net worth exceeded $100 billion for the first time, surpassing Mark Zuckerberg to become the world’s third-wealthiest individual.
• On November 24, 2020, Elon’s net worth surpassed $128 billion, overtaking Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person for the first time. At that juncture, he trailed Jeff Bezos by $54 billion due to Bezos’ $184 billion net worth, marking a $100 billion increase in Elon’s net worth since January 1, 2020.
• On January 7, 2021, Elon’s net worth reached $195 billion, surpassing Jeff Bezos as the globe’s wealthiest individual for the first time.
• By January 8, 2021, Elon concluded the week with a net worth of $210 billion, escalating from $170 billion at the week’s onset.
• In October 2021, with Tesla’s market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion and SpaceX valued at $100 billion, Elon achieved a net worth of $300 billion.
• As of November 1, 2021, with Tesla’s market capitalization surpassing $1.2 trillion, Elon Musk’s net worth stood at $335 billion.
• On December 13, 2022, Elon Musk ceded his title of the wealthiest person globally as his net worth of $165 billion was eclipsed by Bernard Arnault’s $167 billion net worth.
• Elon’s fortune closed 2022 at $134 billion, marking a substantial decline of $200 billion from the previous year.
• Elon concluded 2023 with a fortune of $210 billion.

Stats are from 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033, 2034, 2035, 2036, 2037, 2038, 2039, 2040, 2041, 2042, 2043, 2044, 2045, 2046, 2047, 2048, 2049, 2050.