Elon Musk is the wealthiest man in the world. The latest sale of shares in SpaceX increased his wealth by $50 billion to $439.2 billion.
Musk’s fortune has grown dramatically since the end of 2022. However, they grew especially rapidly after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, as Musk was one of his most prominent political donors and supporters. Then, the day after the election, on November 6, 2024, he added $26.5 billion to his fortune.
Tesla’s stock rose by about 65% compared to the pre-election period, driven by expectations that Trump would cancel tax breaks for electric vehicles that help Tesla’s competitors. Meanwhile, the value of his artificial intelligence startup xAI has more than doubled to $50 billion, which was also helped by Trump’s election victory.
Trump recently said he wants Elon Musk and millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy to head the new US government’s Office of Management and Budget.
The new department is supposed to provide recommendations to the government, work with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to implement “large-scale structural reform,” and create an entrepreneurial approach to government “never seen before.”
According to Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos is the second richest person on the planet, with a net worth of $244 billion. The third is Mark Zuckerberg, with $219 billion.