This achievement was made possible by a recent deal in which his company SpaceX acquired xAI, a company focused on artificial intelligence and the creator of the chatbot Grok. According to Forbes, this deal added 84 billion dollars to Musk's fortune, increasing his net worth to a record 852 billion dollars.
In second place according to Forbes is Larry Page, co-founder of Google, whose net worth is estimated at 281 billion dollars.
Before the deal, Musk owned 42% of SpaceX shares, valued at 336 billion dollars, and 49% of xAI shares, estimated at 122 billion. After the deal was completed, his stake in the combined company increased to 43%, and its value is now 542 billion dollars. Forbes notes that SpaceX is now Musk's most valuable asset.
On December 20, 2025, Forbes reported that Musk's net worth exceeded 700 billion dollars. Just five days prior, the publication estimated his wealth at 677 billion dollars and named him the first person in the world with a net worth above 600 billion.
Musk first topped the Forbes list of the richest people in January 2021, when his net worth was 190 billion dollars.
