Elon Musk is on the brink of becoming the first person in history with a net worth of $800 billion, following a major valuation jump at his artificial intelligence company, xAI Holdings.
xAI Holdings recently raised $20 billion from private investors at a valuation of $250 billion, Forbes has confirmed. The new valuation is more than double the $113 billion figure Musk cited last March when he merged xAI with his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
According to Forbes estimates, the transaction increased the value of Musk’s 49% stake in xAI Holdings by $62 billion, bringing it to $122 billion. As a result, Musk’s overall fortune has climbed to a record $780 billion, cementing his position as the world’s richest person by a wide margin, based on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List.
Several billionaire investors in xAI also recorded significant gains. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, an early Twitter investor, is estimated to own a 1.6% stake in xAI Holdings valued at $4 billion, excluding a larger holding through his publicly listed Kingdom Holding Company. The increase lifts his net worth to $19.4 billion.
Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey and Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison are each estimated to hold 0.8% stakes worth about $2.1 billion apiece. Dorsey’s net worth now stands at roughly $6 billion, while Ellison’s fortune has risen to $241 billion.
xAI Funding Round
xAI’s latest funding round comes amid intense competition in the global artificial intelligence race. The company has been spending heavily, burning an estimated $7.8 billion in cash during the first nine months of 2024, according to internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Its Grok chatbot has also faced criticism in recent weeks, including a lawsuit alleging the generation of fake images of real women.
Musk has crossed several historic wealth milestones over the past year. In October, he became the first person worth $500 billion after Tesla shares surged following his decision to step back from his role as head of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency to focus more on the electric vehicle maker.
On December 15, Musk became the first individual to reach $600 billion, after private investors valued SpaceX at $800 billion, up from $400 billion just four months earlier. Four days later, he crossed the $700 billion mark after the Delaware Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that had voided Tesla stock options now valued at $126 billion.
Despite that ruling, Tesla remains Musk’s second most valuable asset after SpaceX. His 42% stake in SpaceX is estimated to be worth $336 billion, while his Tesla holdings—including stock options and a 12% in common shares are valued at around $307 billion.
Not included in those figures is Tesla’s latest pay package awarded to Musk in November, which could eventually grant him up to $1 trillion in additional stock if the company meets ambitious long-term performance targets.
Musk is now an estimated $510 billion wealthier than the world’s second-richest person, Google cofounder Larry Page, who is worth about $270 billion. Musk’s stake in xAI Holdings alone exceeds the entire fortune of Michael Bloomberg, currently ranked 16th on Forbes’ global rich list.