Elon Musk becomes first person in history whose fortune exceeded $ 400 billion

By Alimat Aliyeva

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, has become the first person in history to have a net worth surpassing $400 billion, according to Bloomberg.

The final push towards this milestone came from the sale of SpaceX shares, which boosted Musk's net worth by approximately $50 billion, bringing it to $439.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Forbes, however, currently estimates Musk's fortune at $367.5 billion, where he still holds the top spot in the magazine’s billionaire ranking.

Bloomberg highlights that at the end of 2022, Musk's wealth had shrunk by more than $200 billion. However, it began to rebound, with a significant surge following Donald Trump’s victory in the US elections.

Tesla's shares rose by around 65 percent, fueled by the expectation that Trump would simplify the regulatory environment for self-driving cars and reverse tax incentives for electric vehicles. Reuters noted that such policies would likely harm Tesla's growing competitors more than the company itself.

Musk’s other venture, SpaceX, is now valued at $350 billion, making it the most valuable private startup in the world, according to Bloomberg.

After Trump’s election win, he announced that Musk and billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for president in the Republican primaries, would lead a new US government department dedicated to efficiency.

During the election campaign, Musk became a "significant figure" in Trump’s inner circle, assisting with campaign financing, spending considerable time with the former president, and, according to media reports, influencing his personnel decisions. NBC also reported that Musk was frequently at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida following the election, a presence that reportedly began to irritate some members of Trump’s team.