Elon Musk’s fortune breaks new record: what’s behind the latest jump to $788 billion
23 January 21:23
Elon Musk’s fortune has grown to a record $788.1 billion, making him even more of a distant leader in the global ranking of the richest people.
This is according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List as of the close of trading on Thursday, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
The key factor in this latest jump was the performance of Tesla shares, which rose by approximately 4.2%, exceeding $449 per share.
The role of Tesla and Musk’s statements in Davos
The rise in prices came against the backdrop of Musk’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The entrepreneur said that Tesla’s robotaxi service would become “very, very widespread” in the US by the end of the year.
According to him, the first fleet will start operating in Austin, Texas, in June 2025, after which the model will be rapidly scaled across the country. The markets took these statements as a signal to accelerate the commercialization of autonomous transport.
How much Musk earned in a day and in a year
In just one day, according to Forbes estimates, Musk’s net worth grew by nearly $13 billion. This further cemented his position as the richest person in the world — with a significant lead over other tech billionaires.
The second and third positions are currently held by Google co-founders Larry Page ($270.4 billion) and Sergey Brin ($249.5 billion). They are ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has fallen to fourth place.
Not just Tesla: SpaceX, xAI, and the Delaware court
Musk’s wealth growth over the past year is not only related to Tesla.
Among the key factors is SpaceX’s new valuation of $800 billion, which is twice the level of August 2025. An additional boost came from the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a previous ruling to cancel Tesla’s stock options, currently valued at approximately $126 billion.
Forbes also notes the contribution of xAI Holdings: after attracting $20 billion in investments at the beginning of the month, Musk’s fortune grew by another $62 billion.
On the way to a trillion?
Musk’s financial trajectory is impressive even by the standards of tech giants. In October, he became the first person with a net worth of over $500 billion, in December he crossed the $600 billion mark, and just a few days later, $700 billion.
Analysts suggest that Musk could become the first trillionaire in history. An additional risk factor and, at the same time, potential growth factor is Tesla’s compensation package, approved in November: it could reach $1 trillion if the company meets a number of financial and production targets.
