Elon Musk becomes first $700bn billionaire after court ruling
Elon Musk has become the first person in history to amass a fortune exceeding $700 billion, after a key court ruling restored a massive Tesla pay package that sharply boosted his net worth.
According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires index, Musk’s wealth jumped to about $749 billion late Friday after the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Tesla stock options valued at roughly $139 billion. The options were part of Musk’s landmark 2018 compensation plan, which had been voided last year by a lower court.
The pay package, originally valued at $56 billion, was struck down in 2024 when a Delaware judge described it as “unfathomable” and criticized Tesla’s board oversight. On Friday, however, the state’s top court ruled that the earlier decision was improper and unfair to Musk, effectively restoring the compensation agreement.
The ruling caps a week of extraordinary gains for Musk, who earlier became the first individual to cross the $600 billion mark amid reports that his private rocket company SpaceX could move toward a public listing. SpaceX, now one of the world’s most valuable private firms, is a major driver of Musk’s rapidly expanding fortune.
In November, Tesla shareholders separately approved a new compensation framework for Musk that could eventually be worth up to $1 trillion, making it the largest corporate pay package ever. Investors backed the plan as Musk continues to reposition Tesla beyond electric vehicles toward artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous technology.
With the latest surge, Musk’s net worth now dwarfs that of Google co-founder Larry Page, the world’s second-richest person, by nearly $500 billion, according to Forbes. The milestone further cements Musk’s position as the most valuable entrepreneur in modern financial history, driven by his stakes in Tesla, SpaceX and a portfolio of technology ventures.
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