Musk’s Net Worth Jumps to $749Bn After US Court Revives 2018 Tesla Pay Package

Elon Musk's personal wealth seem to be on a bull run breaking one record after another every week. According to a latest update of the Forbes real-time billionaire ranking, the Tesla and SpaceX chief has become the first person in history to be worth more than $700 bn.

The surge in wealth followed a major legal win in the US. On December 19, the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Musk’s 2018 Tesla pay package, which is now wroth around $139bn based on EV maker's stock price. It was earlier valued at $56bn

The decision reversed an earlier ruling by a local court and ended a legal battle that had lasted for nearly two years. In its order, the court said cancelling the pay package had left Musk uncompensated for his time and efforts over a six-year period.

Elon Musk Beats Tech Giants

Forbes reported that the restored options valued at about $139bn, push Musk’s total net worth to around $749bn. That figure puts him far ahead of other tech billionaires, with his wealth exceeding that of Google co-founder Larry Page by nearly $500bn.

The scale of Musk’s fortune is such that he is now richer than the next three tech tycoons combined. Data showed Page is worth about $252.6 billion, Oracle founder Larry Ellison $242.7bn, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos $239.4bn.

While Forbes has upgraded its fortune list for Musk, Bloomberg is yet to do the same. On Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Musk’s wealth is still around $642 bn as of December 22.

The recent surge also follows growing excitement around SpaceX's public listing. Earlier this month, Musk's fortune crossed the $600bn mark after reports suggested his rocket company could be headed for a listing with a market valuation of $800 bn. The multibillionaire owns 42% stake in SpaceX, his second most valued asset after Tesla.

Tesla Pay Deal Explained

Tesla has played a major role as well. In early November, the company’s board approved a new pay package that could be worth as much as $1trn over ten years. The plan is linked to milestones such as vehicle sales and market value targets.

Musk’s wealth mainly comes from his stakes across several companies. He owns around 12% of Tesla.

He also holds major stakes in artificial intelligence firm xAI, along with Neuralink and The Boring Company. In addition, he owns about 33% of XAI Holdings, which includes the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Meanwhile, separate reports by AP and Fortune also noted that if Tesla meets even some of the easier targets in the new plan, Musk could move closer to becoming the world’s first trillionaire. With Tesla already delivering millions of vehicles annually, many of those goals appear well within reach.