Elon Musk Becomes the World’s First Person with a Net Worth Exceeding $700 Billion

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become the first person in history to own a fortune exceeding $700 billion. According to Forbes, Musk’s net worth stood at nearly $749 billion on the night of Friday, December 20.

Based on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List, Musk’s current wealth is estimated at $748.9 billion, or $74,890 crore. Against this backdrop, analysts now speculate that Musk could become the first individual ever to reach a net worth of $1 trillion.

Musk’s wealth surged sharply after the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Tesla’s stock-based compensation package, significantly boosting his holdings. Under the court ruling, Musk regained a stock-option package worth approximately $139 billion, which had been cancelled last year. When the package was originally awarded in 2018, it was valued at around $56 billion.

However, a lower court had struck down the compensation plan in 2024, terming it unreasonable. On Friday, the Supreme Court overturned that decision, stating that the lower court’s ruling was incorrect and had resulted in an injustice toward Musk.

Earlier this week, Musk had already made history by becoming the first person to surpass $600 billion in personal wealth, following reports that his space technology company SpaceX could soon be listed on the stock market.

According to Forbes’ Billionaires Ranking, Musk’s fortune now exceeds that of the world’s second-richest individual by a massive margin, placing him roughly $500 billion ahead of Google co-founder Larry Page.

The latest developments underscore how legal decisions, stock performance, and corporate valuations have converged to reshape the global wealth landscape—firmly cementing Elon Musk’s position at the very top.

DBTech/FO/EK