Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, on Wednesday became the first to hit $400 billion in net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The value of shares in Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company, have soared in recent months – hitting an all-time high of $424.88 a share on Wednesday and closing at a record of $424.77.
But it was an insider share sale in Musk’s privately held space firm, SpaceX, that helped push his net worth to new heights – and make his space company the most valuable private startup in the world.
The sale sent Musk’s net worth soaring skyward by $50 billion to $439.2 billion, according to Bloomberg’s estimate.
It’s a huge comeback for the billionaire businessman, who owns Tesla, SpaceX, xAI and X, formerly known as Twitter. In 2022, Musk lost between $180 billion and $200 billion as Tesla’s stock sank.
Musk has seen his net worth soar since President-elect Donald Trump’s election win in November.
The tech billionaire was one of Trump’s most powerful and outspoken advocates, donating a whopping $250 million to his campaign efforts and pro-Trump PACS, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, and rallying on his behalf in swing states.
He has remained one of Trump’s close confidants and has been selected to lead the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to slash federal spending – an idea of Musk’s that he floated during Trump’s campaign.
Tesla shares have risen about 65% since Trump’s win as investors expect the president-elect to speed along the rollout of Musk’s autonomous vehicles and eliminate tax credits for electric vehicle purchases, a policy that largely helped Tesla’s rivals.
The value of xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, has more than doubled since its last fundraising round in May to $50 billion.
On Wednesday, SpaceX and its investors agreed to buy stock from insiders in a $1.25 billion purchase offer – sending the company valuation to $350 billion, according to Bloomberg and CNBC.
SpaceX makes most of its money through government contracts. Nearly $19.8 billion in federal contracts have gone to NASA and the Department of Defense to pay for SpaceX’s rockets and satellites since 2008, according to USA Today.
The space company will likely see continued support under the Trump administration. The president-elect praised Musk’s goal to land astronauts on Mars and attended a SpaceX launch soon after he won the election.
Jared Isaacman, Trump’s pick to lead NASA, also has close ties to Musk.
He became the first non-professional astronaut to walk in space earlier this year via a SpaceX rocket and last month called the firm “the most innovative, literally impressive organization that I’ve ever seen.”
He invested $27.5 million in SpaceX in 2021 through his payments firm, according to SEC filings.
Isaacman, worth about $1.7 billion according to Forbes, made his fortune from his payment processing company Shift4 Payments, which he founded at age 16.
A Delaware judge last week denied Musk his “excessive” 2018 pay package that is now worth more than $100 billion. It was the second such ruling, which Musk blasted as “totally crazy.”
Even if the pay package is revoked, Musk would still be the richest person in the world.
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