Elon Musk on Monday became the first person ever worth $600bn (R10,09-trillion), Forbes said, on the heels of reports that his SpaceX startup was likely to go public at a valuation of $800bn (R13.45-trillion). South African-born Musk, who was the first to surpass $500bn (R8.40-trillion) in net worth in October, owns an estimated 42% stake in SpaceX, which is preparing to go public next year, Reuters reported last week. The SpaceX valuation would strengthen Musk’s wealth by $168bn (R2.82-trillion) to an estimated $677bn (R11.38-trillion) as of 12pm ET on Monday, according to Forbes.
Musk’s wealth also got a boost from his roughly 12% stake in EV maker Tesla, shares of which have risen 13% so far this year, despite flagging sales. They were up nearly 4% on Monday after Musk said the company was testing robotaxis without safety monitors in the front passenger seat. In November Tesla shareholders approved a $1-trillion (R16.81-trillion) pay plan for Musk, the largest corporate pay package in history, as investors endorsed his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut.
His artificial-intelligence startup xAI is in advanced talks to raise $15bn (R252.14bn) in fresh equity at a valuation of $230bn (R3.87-trillion), according to a media report. Musk, Tesla, SpaceX and xAI did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
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