Musk becomes first person to hit $644b net worth, Forbes list shows

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday (Oct 1) became the first person ever to achieve a net worth of nearly US$500 billion (S$644 billion), propelled by a rebound in the EV company's shares and surging valuations of the tech entrepreneur's other startups this year.

His net worth stood at US$500.1 billion as of 4.15pm E.T. (4.15am in Singapore time on Thursday), according to Forbes' billionaires index.

Musk's fortunes are tied closely to Tesla, where he held a more than 12.4 per cent stake as of Sept 15. The stock has risen more than 14 per cent so far this year and closed 3.3 per cent higher on Wednesday, adding more than US$6 billion to Musk's net worth.

After a turbulent start to the year, Tesla shares have trended higher as investor sentiment improved on Musk bringing his focus back to his companies. Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm said last month Musk was back "front and centre" at the company after several months at the White House.

Just days later, Musk disclosed his purchase of about US$1 billion worth of the shares in a huge vote of confidence for the future of Tesla as it races to transition from an automaker to an AI and robotics powerhouse.

Still, sagging car sales and persistent margin pressures have hurt the stock, making it one of the worst performers in the "Magnificent Seven" group of megacap tech stocks.

The Tesla board last month proposed a US$1 trillion compensation plan for Musk, setting out lofty financial and operational targets for the CEO while also addressing his demands for a bigger stake in the company.

Musk's AI startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX have also scaled their valuations this year.

xAI last had a valuation of US$75 billion as of July, according to data from Pitchbook. CNBC in September reported the company was eyeing a valuation of US$200 billion after a fundraise, but Musk said it was not raising any capital at the time.

Bloomberg News reported in July SpaceX was discussing plans to raise money and sell insider shares in a deal valuing the firm at around US$400 billion.

Oracle founder Larry Ellison follows Musk as the second-richest person on Forbes' list, with a net worth of about US$350.7 billion as of Wednesday.

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