Before the deal, Musk owned approximately 42% of SpaceX shares, which were valued at $336 billion according to a tender offer published in December. In this offer, the value of SpaceX was estimated at $800 billion. He also held 49% of xAI shares, valued at $122 billion based on a private funding round that valued the company at $250 billion earlier this month. As a result of the merger, which valued SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion, Musk now owns 43% of the shares in the new company, worth $542 billion, according to Forbes.
Musk's main asset remains SpaceX, which has become his most valuable asset. Additionally, he holds 12% of Tesla shares, valued at $178 billion, as well as Tesla stock options worth another $124 billion. This does not include the record compensation package approved by Tesla shareholders in November, which could bring Musk up to $1 trillion in additional shares if ambitious conditions are met, such as increasing market capitalization more than eightfold over the next 10 years.
This is already Musk's second merger of companies in less than a year. In March of last year, he announced the merger of his company xAI with the social network X (formerly known as Twitter) in a deal that valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion. These deals raised questions about the valuations provided by Musk, as all companies are now part of SpaceX, which is expected to conduct an IPO this year, attracting attention from the public market.
Over the past four months, Musk's net worth has surpassed several significant milestones. In October, he became the first person in history to reach a net worth of $500 billion after a sharp rise in Tesla's stock when he left the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Trump. On December 15, he became the first person with a net worth of $600 billion when private investors valued SpaceX at $800 billion, compared to $400 billion in August. Four days later, Musk became the first person whose net worth was estimated at $700 billion after the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated his Tesla stock options, which had been canceled by a lower court in 2024.
Today, Musk's net worth stands at a record $578 billion, significantly exceeding the net worth of the second richest person in the world, Google co-founder Larry Page, estimated at $281 billion. This means Musk is just about half a billion dollars away from becoming the world's first trillionaire.
