Tesla CEO Elon Musk is now the first person in history to reach a net worth of $500 billion, according to Forbes, a milestone driven by a rebound in Tesla stock and rising valuations of his other companies.
Musk, who lives in Texas and has shifted much of his business empire here in recent years, now surpasses Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, whose wealth is estimated at $393 billion.
Musk’s financial growth is closely tied to Texas, where Tesla moved its headquarters from California to Austin in 2021. The company’s Gigafactory outside Austin has become the central hub for vehicle production and development of new technologies. His space company, SpaceX, operates its Starbase launch facility in South Texas, which has hosted multiple test flights of the company’s massive Starship rocket.
The billionaire also recently launched xAI, an artificial intelligence startup headquartered in the Austin area. With Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI all tied to Texas, Musk’s wealth milestone underscores the state’s growing role as a hub for technology, innovation, and manufacturing.
While Musk’s fortune reflects global markets and ventures, his footprint in Texas continues to expand — making the Lone Star State central to the world’s richest individual’s operations.
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