Elon Musk net worth is something many people want to know. He is one of the richest people in the world and has built some of the most famous companies. He leads Tesla, SpaceX, and other big businesses that have changed technology and space travel. His ideas and hard work have made him a leader in many industries.
So, let’s take a closer look at how he makes his money and what has helped him build his wealth.
Accordion Title
| Full Name | Elon Reeve Musk |
| Date of Birth | June 28, 1971 |
| Place of Birth | Pretoria, South Africa |
| Occupation | Businessman, Engineer, Entrepreneur |
| Height | 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) |
| Weight | 210 lbs (95 kg) |
| Spouse | Talulah Riley (m. 2013–2016), Talulah Riley (m. 2010–2012) Justine Musk (m. 2000–2008) |
| Children | 10 children |
| Net Worth | $385 billion |
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What Elon Musk Net Worth?
Elon Musk is a CEO, businessman, engineer, entrepreneur, and senior advisor to the U.S. president with an estimated net worth of $385 billion. His wealth comes from his stakes in Tesla, SpaceX, and other companies. Unlike traditional billionaires, Musk does not take a salary. Instead, his fortune is tied to company stock and performance-based rewards.
Tesla, the electric car giant, is his biggest source of wealth. Musk owns about 13% of Tesla, which has a market value of over $800 billion. SpaceX, his private space exploration company, is valued at over $150 billion, adding billions to his net worth.
Musk’s fortune can change quickly. His net worth has jumped or dropped by billions in a single day due to stock market shifts. He has lost more than $100 billion in a year before but still remains one of the richest men in history.
Net Worth History
Elon Musk’s net worth has changed a lot over the years. On January 1, 2020, it was $28 billion. By the end of 2020, it grew to $170 billion.
In July 2020, Elon’s net worth hit $80 billion for the first time. SpaceX contributed $15 billion, and Tesla added $65 billion. In August 2020, Elon’s net worth went above $90 billion. This was thanks to Tesla’s stock hitting $1,900 and SpaceX being valued at $46 billion. These two factors added $22 billion to his wealth.
In November 2020, Elon became the third richest person with a net worth of $100 billion. By November 24, his net worth rose to $128 billion, making him the second richest person in the world, ahead of Bill Gates.
In January 2021, Elon Musk became the richest person, surpassing Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $195 billion. Just a day later, his wealth grew to $210 billion.
By October 2021, with Tesla worth over $1 trillion and SpaceX valued at $100 billion, Elon’s net worth reached $300 billion. A month later, it hit $335 billion when Tesla’s value topped $1.2 trillion.
In December 2022, Elon Musk lost his title as the richest person to Bernard Arnault. His net worth dropped to $165 billion. By the end of 2022, it was $134 billion. However, by 2023, Elon’s wealth rebounded to $210 billion.
In November 2024, Elon’s net worth hit $348 billion.
Early Life
Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. His mother, Maye, was a model and dietitian from Canada. His father, Errol, was a South African engineer and property developer. Elon has a younger brother, Kimbal, and a younger sister, Tosca. Elon’s family was wealthy, and he grew up with strong connections to the Anglican Church.
When Elon was young, his father had a part in some emerald mining, but Errol later clarified the deal wasn’t as big as it seemed. After his parents divorced in 1980, Elon chose to live with his father, though he later regretted that decision. He had a difficult time in school, especially at a wilderness school where bullying was common.
Elon Musk was always interested in books and technology. He loved reading The Lord of the Rings, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Foundation. He also taught himself how to program computers at age ten and even sold his first game at twelve for $500.
In school, Elon was good but not outstanding. He went to different schools in South Africa, including Waterkloof House and Pretoria Boys High School. Afterward, he applied for a Canadian passport to avoid South Africa’s military service and to make it easier to move to the U.S. He attended the University of Pretoria for a short time before moving to Canada.
In 1989, Elon moved to Canada and worked odd jobs like farming and at a lumber mill. He then went to Queen’s University in Ontario, later transferring to the University of Pennsylvania. There, he earned degrees in physics and economics. To pay for school, he hosted parties and came up with a business plan for an electronic book-scanning service, something similar to Google Books.
In 1994, Elon Musk worked internships at two startups in Silicon Valley. In 1995, he was accepted to Stanford but chose to skip the program and join the Internet boom instead. He tried to work at Netscape but didn’t hear back. Some reports say Elon didn’t have the legal papers to stay in the U.S. at that time, though Elon has said he was allowed to work under an H1-B visa.
Business Career
Elon Musk’s career has been full of groundbreaking ventures. In 1995, he co-founded Zip2 with his brother Kimbal and Greg Kouri. They created a city guide for newspapers, offering maps and yellow pages. They secured contracts with The New York Times and Chicago Tribune. In 1999, Compaq bought Zip2 for $307 million, and Musk received $22 million.
In 1999, Musk founded X.com, an online payment company that later became PayPal. Although he was replaced as CEO, PayPal grew and was bought by eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002. Musk received $175.8 million from the deal. Later, he bought the X.com domain back from PayPal.
In 2002, Elon Musk founded SpaceX to make space travel affordable. After many challenges, SpaceX succeeded in 2008 with its Falcon 1 rocket. By 2012, SpaceX became the first private company to dock a spacecraft at the International Space Station. Musk has since focused on making reusable rockets and launched the Falcon Heavy in 2018.
In 2015, Musk launched Starlink to provide internet via satellites. The project has cost over $10 billion. During the Russo-Ukrainian War, Musk provided free Starlink service to Ukraine.
Elon Musk joined Tesla in 2004, investing $6.35 million. He later became CEO. Under his leadership, Tesla launched popular electric cars like the Model S and Model 3. Tesla became the most valuable car company in 2020. Musk also expanded into solar energy with SolarCity, which was later merged with Tesla Energy.
In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a company aimed at merging AI with the human brain. Neuralink hopes to treat neurological diseases. Musk also founded The Boring Company in 2017 to build tunnels to avoid traffic.
In 2022, Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. He later fired several executives, became CEO, and made major changes, including a subscription service for blue checkmarks. His takeover led to increased controversy over content moderation and hate speech on the platform.
Personal Life
Elon Musk has twelve children, but one died. He had six children with his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson. They married in 2000. In 2002, their first child, Nevada, died from sudden infant death syndrome at 10 weeks old. After that, they used IVF to have more kids.
They had twins in 2004 and triplets in 2006. They divorced in 2008 and share custody of the children. One of their twins, now known as Vivian Jenna Wilson, transitioned to a trans woman and changed her name in 2022, no longer wanting to be connected to Musk.
Elon Musk married English actress Talulah Riley in 2010 at Dornoch Cathedral in Scotland. They divorced in 2012, remarried in 2013, but divorced again in 2016. He briefly dated Amber Heard in 2017 after pursuing her since 2012.
In 2018, Musk began dating Canadian musician Grimes. They have three children born in 2020, 2021, and 2023. Their first child was named “X Æ A-12,” but they had to change it because it wasn’t allowed in California.
The final name on the birth certificate was “X” for first name and “Æ A-Xii” as a middle name. Their second child was born via surrogacy. Musk confirmed in 2021 that he and Grimes were “semi-separated,” and in 2021, he said he was single. In October 2023, Grimes sued Musk over custody of their first child, X Æ A-Xii.
Elon Musk also has three children with Shivon Zilis, a director at Neuralink. They had twins in 2021 through IVF and another child via surrogacy in 2024.
Real Estate
Elon Musk used to own $100 million worth of property in California. He still owns a large villa in Hillsborough, Northern California. This 16,000-square-foot house sits on almost 50 acres of land. He bought it for $23.364 million in 2017.
In Southern California, Elon once had six homes in Bel-Air. One of them was a 20,000-square-foot house he bought for $17 million in 2012. Another was a 7,000-square-foot house he bought for $20 million in 2015. He also bought a 9,300-square-foot house in 2016 for $24.25 million. In 2020, he shocked everyone by deciding to sell all his possessions, starting with his Bel-Air homes. He sold four homes at once to a single buyer in December 2020.
Elon Musk also owns several homes in Austin, Texas. He spent a total of $35 million on them. One of these homes is a large 14,400-square-foot Tuscan-style mansion.