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Elon Musk net worth more than Bezos and Zuckerberg combined

The world’s wealthiest man has seen his fortune rise by $224bn since the US election, surpassing the joint fortunes of those in second and third place

Elon Musk heavily financed Donald Trump’s election campaign and has been given a job to slash government spending BRANDON BELL/REUTERS

Elon Musk heavily financed Donald Trump’s election campaign and has been given a job to slash government spending BRANDON BELL/REUTERS

Elon Musk’s estimated net worth has leapt to $486 billion (£383 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Musk, chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, has seen his $277 million investment in Donald Trump and Republican candidates turn into a $224 billion windfall in the 43 days since last month’s US election.

Musk is worth almost double that of the second-richest person, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who is on $250 billion. Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta CEO whom Musk once challenged to a cage fight, is in third place with $219 billion.

 

Jeff Bezos speaking.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, below, are a distant second and third. JOHN LOCHER/AP
 
 
 
Mark Zuckerberg wearing Meta's Orion AR glasses at Meta Connect.
PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES
 

The fortunes of the world’s wealthiest person have primarily been boosted by his 13 per cent stake in Tesla, the electric vehicle company, whose stock soared from $242 on November 5 to close at an all-time high of $479.86 on Tuesday.

Tesla shareholders believe Musk’s close relationship with the president-elect will reap dividends through favourable federal policies on electric cars and automated driving.

• Nick Candy: Elon Musk will show me how Reform can win election

“Musk betting on Trump was a bet for the ages,” said Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities, a wealth management firm. “It continues to be Tesla’s world, and everyone else is paying rent when it comes to the EV [electric vehicle] market,” Ives told Yahoo Finance.

Aside from Tesla, Musk controls 42 per cent of SpaceX, his rocket and satellite company, which was recently valued at $350 billion after investors purchased $1.25 billion in employee-owned shares, according to Bloomberg News.

SpaceX controls a vast network of Starlink internet satellites and operates the Dragon 2 spacecraft that delivers Nasa astronauts to the International Space Station and provides private spaceflights.

Its valuation has doubled in a year, making it the most valuable startup in the world.

Musk’s fortunes have further been boosted by his stake in xAI, the artificial intelligence firm he founded in 2023 to rival competitors like OpenAI. A recent round of funding put its valuation at $50 billion, with Musk’s stake estimated at $25 billion.

Musk, 53, owns the X social media platform, which he purchased with investors for $44 billion in 2022, the Boring Company, a tunnel construction firm, and Neuralink, his brain implant startup.

• What’s next for Nasa and space travel under Elon Musk’s regime?

As a longtime proponent of, and investor in, cryptocurrencies, he has also benefited from the tailwinds of the light-touch regulation expected under the incoming Trump administration.

On top of his private interests, Trump has asked him to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, and has promised to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget.

Musk’s position as Trump’s “chief buddy”, at the heart of the incoming administration, is expected to allow him to influence the regulatory and tax environments in which his companies operate.

Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink in particular rely heavily on federal subsidies, regulation and contracts.

• Elon Musk could become US “puppet master”, warns Nick Clegg

Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator, called this week for clear and transparent ethics standards that would prevent Musk from abusing federal policies.

“Mr Musk’s substantial private interests present a massive conflict of interest with the role he has taken on as your ‘unofficial co-president’,” Warren wrote in a letter to the Trump transition team.

“Currently, the American public has no way of knowing whether the advice that he is whispering to you in secret is good for the country — or merely good for his own bottom line.”

 

Bill Gates speaking at the Goalkeepers NYC event.
For nearly two decades, Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, ranked as either the richest or second-richest person in the world but is now seventh. ROY ROCHLIN/GETTY IMAGES
 

The world’s richest people

1. Elon Musk, 53, chief executive of Tesla, SpaceX and others, $486 billion
2. Jeff Bezos, 60, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, $250 billion
3. Mark Zuckerberg, 40, chief executive of Meta, $219 billion
4. Larry Ellison, 80, founder of Oracle, $193 billion
5. Bernard Arnault, 75, founder of LVMH, $179 billion
6. Larry Page, 51, co-founder of Google, $174 billion
7. Bill Gates, 69, co-founder of Microsoft, $165 billion
8. Sergey Brin, 51, co-founder of Google, $164 billion
9. Steve Ballmer, 68, former chief executive of Microsoft, $157 billion
10. Warren Buffett, 94, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, $143 billion

Source: Bloomberg Billionaires IndexMusk’s wealth increased by $12 billion in a single day on Tuesday. His personal fortune is now greater than the gross domestic product of Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

Author: Editors Desk, Bevan Hurley

Source: The Sunday Times

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