Tech billionaire Elon Musk has made history, becoming the first person on record to amass a net worth exceeding half a trillion dollars.
According to CNBC, Musk’s fortune briefly hit $500.1 billion on Wednesday afternoon in New York, before dipping slightly to just over $499 billion later in the day.
Forbes’ real-time billionaire index confirmed the milestone.
It cements Musk as the wealthiest individual on the planet by a wide margin.
The bulk of Musk’s wealth comes from his stake in Tesla, which has surged more than 20 percent this year.
Tesla’s stock price surged to an all-time high on Wednesday and continued climbing higher in pre-market trading on Thursday, before pulling back after open.
Additional gains have come from his other ventures, including SpaceX and his artificial intelligence company, xAI.
Both ventures have seen rising valuations in recent months.
Musk’s record wealth leaves him far ahead of his closest rival, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
Ellison currently sits in second place with a net worth of approximately $350.7 billion.
The historic milestone comes as Tesla shareholders prepare to vote on what would be the largest executive compensation package in corporate history.
According to Tesla’s latest proxy filing, the proposed plan spans a decade and ties Musk’s pay to aggressive performance targets.
Among them: expanding Tesla’s robotaxi business and growing the company’s market value to $8.5 trillion, up from its current $1.1 trillion.
If all targets are met, Musk’s stake in Tesla could rise to 25 percent.
This aligns with Musk’s publicly stated goal of maintaining that level of ownership.
The package will be put to a shareholder vote at Tesla’s annual meeting on November 6.
The filing also included a non-binding proposal for Tesla to consider taking a stake in Musk’s xAI startup, an idea the CEO has floated previously.
Despite Tesla’s strong stock performance, the company has faced significant challenges, including growing competition from China’s BYD and other EV manufacturers.
The firm is also attempting to transform itself beyond electric vehicles, with major investments in robotics and artificial intelligence.
That shift comes as Musk navigates leadership transitions.
A number of top executives have departed over the past year.
Nevertheless, the company continues to go from strength to strength.
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