(Reuters) – Tesla (NASDAQ ) CEO Elon Musk's net worth surpassed $400 billion on Thursday, Forbes' real-time billionaires list showed, boosted by a nearly 71% increase in the automaker's stock this year and the rising valuation of its rocket company EspacioX.
Musk is Tesla's largest shareholder with around 13% stake in the company. Shares of the electric vehicle maker rose to a record high of $424.9 on Wednesday, extending a rally that began after the Nov. 5 election.
His net worth was also boosted by an insider stock sale in SpaceX, which Musk heads. The rocket company and its investors agreed to buy up to $1.25 billion of its common stock, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.
“The really crazy thing about this is that almost no investors wanted to sell shares even at a $350 billion valuation!” Musk wrote in response to a post on x referring to the Bloomberg report.
He added that SpaceX has reduced the number of shares it bought back from its employees to attract new investors.
Tesla investors have pinned their hopes on Musk's relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, hoping the billionaire's role in shaping the incoming Republican administration's political agenda will benefit the automaker.
In addition to Tesla, Musk also runs the brain technology startup Neuralink. Both SpaceX and Neuralink rely heavily on government regulation and policy and could benefit from a business-friendly administration.
Musk, who spent more than $250 million to help Trump win the election, also owns social media site x and tunnel builder The Boring Company.
Musk is followed on the list of billionaires by amazon (NASDAQ:) founder Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $243.7 billion, while Oracle (NYSE:) co-founder Larry Ellison is in third place. with a net worth of $223.4 billion.
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