Elon Musk has achieved an unprecedented financial milestone, becoming the first individual ever to accumulate a net worth exceeding $700 billion, according to the Forbes real-time billionaire ranking. This monumental surge in wealth is primarily attributed to the Delaware Supreme Court's reinstatement of his substantial $56 billion pay package from Tesla, originally approved in 2018. Musk, the visionary behind SpaceX and Tesla, now commands a fortune that surpasses the combined wealth of the next three tech billionaires on the Forbes list: Google's Larry Page ($252.6 billion), Oracle's Larry Ellison ($242.7 billion), and Amazon's Jeff Bezos ($239.4 billion). His net worth alone exceeds Larry Page's by nearly $500 billion. Separately, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) reported his wealth at $642 billion at the time of writing.

The extraordinary increase in Elon Musk's net worth is a result of several key developments. On December 19 (US time), the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Tesla stock options worth an astounding $139 billion that had been voided in a previous ruling. This decision effectively restored the controversial $56 billion pay package from 2018, which had been under contention for two years and was previously deemed “improper and inequitable” by the same court in 2024. This follows Musk's achievement of the $600 billion milestone earlier in the month, spurred by reports of a potential listing for his rocket company, SpaceX. Furthermore, Tesla's stock experienced a significant rise after its board approved an unprecedented $1 trillion pay package for Musk in early November. Overall, Forbes data indicates that 2025 was a "bumper year" for the world's richest man, as he added over $340 billion to his wealth, a figure greater than the total net worth of any other individual on the publication's billionaires list for the year.

Elon Musk's colossal $749 billion net worth, as per the Forbes Billionaire ranking, is predominantly derived from his stakes in seven companies. These include his flagship ventures Tesla and SpaceX, the artificial intelligence startup xAI, and other enterprises such as the brain implant firm Neuralink and the tunneling startup The Boring Company. Notably, Musk holds approximately 12% ownership in Tesla and a significant 42% in SpaceX, which are identified as his highest-earning holdings. He also possesses about 33% of xAI Holdings, which encompasses the social media platform X (rebranded from Twitter).

The question of whether Elon Musk will become the world's first trillionaire is gaining traction. Reports from AP and Fortune suggest that Musk is very likely to receive substantial payouts and additional Tesla shares, even if he only achieves the "lowest tiers" of his ambitious $1 trillion pay package from the automaker. Approved on November 6, 2025, this 10-year package is structured into 12 tiers, each "unlocking" upon the achievement of specific milestones by the Tesla chief. Crucially, the lowest tiers are considered "easily achievable," ensuring a nearly guaranteed payout for Musk regardless of whether the more challenging targets are met. For instance, one target requires the sale of a cumulative 20 million Tesla vehicles over 10 years; with 8 million already sold and 1.9 million delivered in the last four quarters (averaging 2 million cars annually), this goal could be met by year six with minimal increase. Another example involves taking Tesla's valuation to $2 trillion, a target Musk has historically influenced by building expectations for initiatives like robotaxis and full self-driving. He would need to maintain an average valuation at or above $2 trillion for six months, and specifically for the last 30 days, to secure that payout. Fortune's report estimates that, on average, Musk is expected to net a $900 million payout annually, translating to $90 million each year. Even in a worst-case performance scenario, where Tesla shares end below the $2 trillion market cap (the first valuation milestone) at $1.8 trillion or lower, Musk is still projected to make $727 million.