What is Elon Musk’s net worth and is he the richest person in the world? – The Sun | The Sun
ONLY 21 individuals in the world stand a chance at becoming the world's first trillionaire – and Elon Musk is at the top of that list.
Since the start of his career, Musk has been able to amass an extensive fortune, and now many want to know how much he's actually worth and if he is the richest man in the world.
What is Elon Musk's net worth?
Elon Musk has achieved what many dream of – making billions.
As of 2022, his estimated net worth is $176billion, according to Forbes.
This number comes from multiple business ventures including founding giant companies like Tesla and SpaceX.
His career in the business world dates back to 1995, when he and his brother, Kimbal Musk, started the software firm Zip2, which created internet city guides for the New York Times and Chicago Tribune.
Four years later, in February 1999, Compaq acquired the company for $307million in cash, giving Musk $22million for his seven percent share from the sale.
Later in 1999, he then co-founded X.com, one of the world's first online banks, which merged with PayPal the following year.
A notorious workaholic, he doesn't spend his money on lavish vacations or expensive hobbies.
READ MORE FROM ELON
Humans in 2100 could be ageless bionic hybrids & Elon Musk-style 'CYBORGS'
I'm flying on Elon Musk's rocket to the moon – there's something I'm dreading
Incredible Tesla Semi motorhome design that can drive up to 500mi revealed
Inside chilling ‘Frankenstein’ monkey experiments as Musk urged to ban tests
Instead, the entrepreneur spends most of his free time at the office or in factories.
At the end of the day, he heads back to one of several Los Angeles mansions he owns.
Musk's worth also comes from the stock market, which he has helped influence greatly over the years.
At the beginning of 2021, Musk made the price of Bitcoin break all-time records after he revealed Tesla invested $1.5billion in the cryptocurrency.
It soared beyond $48,000 in February 2021 on the cryptocurrency markets as investors raced to take advantage of an inevitable post-Musk surge.
Meanwhile, another tweet from Musk sent another Dogecoin soaring after he described the once-mocked currency as "the future".
The coin, which began as a joke in 2013, surged in value by 1,250% in 2021 after a huge number of investors decided to simultaneously pump cash into the coin to make it a legit trading option.
In 2022, Musk hit headlines once more when he made an audacious attempt to buy Twitter.
On October 4, 2022, Twitter announced that it will accept Elon Musk's multi-billion dollar offer to buy the company.
Musk previously backed out on the original Twitter deal over a bot dispute.
The billionaire is involved in a legal battle over trying to back out of the previous $44billion deal.
Is Elon Musk the richest person in the world?
For most of 2022, Musk held the title of the richest person in the world. However, that quickly changed towards the end.
As of December 13, 2022, Musk sits second on Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires List behind Bernard Arnault and his family.
As of this writing, the LVMH co-founder has a net worth of $188.6billion, which is over $12billion more than Musk.
Rounding out the top five include Gautam Adani ($134billion), Jeff Bezos ($115.4billion), and Warren Buffett ($108.4billion).
How did Elon Musk make his money?
Musk began investing in space travel in 2001 when he tried to buy Russian ballistic missiles that he hoped could send payloads into space.
Instead, he set out to build his own rockets through his firm SpaceX.
The company has pioneered reusable rockets and has successfully landed its Falcon 9 craft, a first for an orbital rocket.
SpaceX has won contracts to launch payloads into orbit for NASA and is now valued at more than $100billion, according to Business Insider.
Musk also has much grander plans, including a colony of a million people living under glass domes on Mars.
Other companies Musk owns include:
- Tesla Motors (2004)
- SolarCity (2006)
- Hyperloop One
- Neuralink
- Boring Company
In 2018, Musk was forced to resign as Tesla chairman and pay a $20million fine after settling a deal with US regulators over tweets about taking the company private.
At the time, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said his claims were "false and misleading".
Source: Read Full Article