Elon Musk's net worth soars to record $347.8 billion
What's the story
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has seen his net worth hit an all-time high of $347.8 billion, Bloomberg reported. The increase in wealth exceeds his previous all-time high of over $340 billion in November 2021. The massive increase is largely due to a post-US presidential election rally of Tesla shares, and investors' faith in Musk's ability to sway the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Stock surge
Tesla's post-election rally boosts wealth
Tesla's stock has surged nearly 40% since the US presidential election on November 5. The surge is primarily attributed to investors' belief that Musk's clout in the incoming Trump administration could result in deregulation favoring Tesla. As the largest individual shareholder of Tesla, Musk has become $83 billion richer since Election Day, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Business expansion
Musk's ventures gain prominence under Trump administration
Musk's partnership with President-elect Trump has brought his ventures to the forefront. Apart from heading Tesla and SpaceX, Musk also leads other companies such as Neuralink, xAI, as well as The Boring Company. He will be overseeing a new "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)" with Vivek Ramaswamy. The department is humorously named after a popular cryptocurrency.
Startup success
Musk's AI start-up doubles in value
Musk's artificial intelligence start-up, xAI, has also witnessed a massive jump in its valuation. The company's worth more than doubled last week in a new funding round, hitting $50 billion from just a few months ago.
Wealth comparison
Musk surpasses Bezos's wealth by over $100 billion
Musk's wealth now dwarfs that of other billionaires. As of last Tuesday, he was over $100 billion richer than the second wealthiest person, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Most of Musk's fortune comes from his 13% share in Tesla (worth $145 billion) and 42% stake in SpaceX (worth $210 billion). He also has stakes in Neuralink, The Boring Company, and X.