Elon Musk is richer than Larry Page, Larry Ellison & Jeff Bezos combined as worth surges past $740 billion — Here’s how
According to Forbes real-time billionaire rankings, Elon Musk has become the first person whose fortune exceeds $700 billion, thanks to the Delaware Supreme Court reinstating the massive $56 billion pay package he received from Tesla in 2018.
Data showed that the SpaceX and Tesla chief is now richer than the next three tech billionaires on the list combined: Google’s Larry Page ($252.6 billion), Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($242.7 billion) and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($239.4 billion). He surpasses Larry Page alone by nearly $500 billion.
Separately, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) showed that the world’s richest man is worth $642 billion at the time of writing.
What caused Elon Musk’s extraordinary increase in wealth?
According to Forbes, the increase in Elon Musk’s net worth came after the Delaware Supreme Court on December 19 (US time) reinstated $139 billion worth of Tesla stock options that were canceled last year.
The $56 billion pay package awarded in 2018 was restored last week after two years of wrangling. In an earlier decision in 2024, the same court ruled that the huge pay package was “inappropriate and unfair”.
This comes after Elon Musk hit the $600 billion milestone earlier this month following reports that his rocket company SpaceX would likely list it.
Before that, Tesla shares also rose after its board approved an unprecedented $1 trillion pay package for the tech mogul in early November (resulting in a boost to Elon Musk’s fortune).
Overall, Forbes data for 2025 showed that the world’s richest man had a rich year, adding more than $340 billion to his fortune. That’s more than the combined worth of everyone else on the publication’s billionaires list this year.
What does Elon Musk’s fortune consist of?
According to the Forbes Billionaire rankings, Elon Musk’s $749 billion fortune is largely due to:
Is Elon Musk preparing to become the world’s first trillionaire?
The AP and Fortune noted in separate reports that Elon Musk could likely get a big paycheck and more Tesla stock even if he hits the toughest goals in his $1 trillion pay package from the automaker.
The $1 trillion pay package approved on November 6, 2025 could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. How? The 10-year package consists of 12 tiers that “unlock” when the Tesla chief reaches a milestone. In particular, the lows are easily achievable and once “unlocked,” providing Elon Musk with an almost guaranteed payout regardless of whether the tougher goals are met or not.
- For example, it needs to sell a total of 20 million Tesla vehicles in 10 years; the company has already sold 8 million, making the actual requirement 12 million. Over the past four quarters, Tesla has already delivered 1.9 million cars, for an annual average of 2 million cars; He added that he could ring the bell of this target with a minimum increase by the sixth year.
- Another example is the goal of increasing the valuation to $2 trillion. Elon Musk had previously boosted the stock by building expectations (e.g. robotaxi, fully autonomous driving, etc.) and all he had to do was hold the stock at or above $2 trillion for six months and within the last 30 days to guarantee the payout.
According to the Fortune report, Elon Musk is expected to earn an average income of $900 million, which is $90 million every year. The report stated that if the market value of Tesla shares ends below $1.8 trillion or $2 trillion (the first valuation milestone), at its worst performance, Elon Musk would still earn $727 million.
