Tech titan Elon Musk made history on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, by becoming the first person ever to achieve a staggering net worth of nearly $500 billion. This monumental financial milestone was largely driven by a significant rebound in shares of his electric vehicle company, Tesla, coupled with the impressive valuations of his other groundbreaking ventures.
According to Forbes’ highly-regarded billionaires index, Musk’s personal fortune reached an incredible $499.5 billion as of 3:55 p.m. E.T. on that historic day.
The primary catalyst behind this immense growth has been the stellar performance of Tesla stock. The electric vehicle giant’s shares have already soared over 14% this year, with an additional nearly 4% climb on Wednesday alone, contributing an impressive $7 billion to his already colossal fortune.
Further highlighting his influential role, the Tesla board recently proposed an astonishing $1 trillion compensation package for Mr. Musk. This plan reflects his deep control over the automaker as it ambitiously strives to evolve into a leading force in artificial intelligence and robotics.
Following closely behind Musk on Forbes’ prestigious list is Oracle founder Larry Ellison, whose net worth reached approximately $351.5 billion as of the same Wednesday, October 1, 2025.