United StatesFounded it
Elon Musk
Elon Musk founded SpaceX and leads Tesla as CEO; most of his fortune is his stake in SpaceX, which absorbed xAI and X in 2026, followed by his Tesla shares.
- Forbes estimate
- $913B
- Forbes, 15 Oct 2026
- Forbes rank
- No. 1
- 15 Oct 2026
- Stake in SpaceX
- 48.4%
- Net worth, Bloomberg
- $921B
- Bloomberg, 15 Oct 2026
- Born
- 28 Jun 1971
- South Africa
- Education
- Bachelor's degree
- BA in physics, University of Pennsylvania; BS in business, Wharton School
- Giving Pledge
- Signed in 2012
Where the fortune sits
SpaceX stock, then Tesla stock
SpaceX
aerospace and satellite internet, founded 2002
Percent of Class A on an as-converted basis (6,418,547,515 shares, mostly Class B held by trusts he controls)
Schedule 13G, 30 Jun 2026
CEO, CTO and chairman
Tesla
electric cars and energy storage, founded 2003
699,580,882 shares beneficially owned; Forbes says 'nearly 11%' excluding unvested restricted stock from the 2018 award
Schedule 13G/A No. 17, 16 Jun 2026
CEO (since October 2008)
Other holdings
Neuralink
Founder; brain-machine interfaces
The Boring Company
Founder; tunnelling
Where Elon stands among 73
Everyone on the site, grouped by their answer. Elon Musk is outlined.
How the fortune started
Founded it
Founded it 42
Inherited and grew it 12
Built it up 8
Inherited it 6
Through marriage 5
Industry
Technology
Technology 24
Finance 10
Several industries 9
Metals and mining 6
Retail 4
Fashion and beauty 4
Media 3
Food and drink 3
Shipping 3
Crypto 2
Oil, gas and chemicals 2
Healthcare 1
Casinos and resorts 1
Property and sports 1
Giving Pledge
Signed
Signed 11
Not a signer 61
Not stated 1
Education
Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree 27
Graduate degree 24
Left university without a degree 6
No university 5
Not stated 11
Role today
Runs the company
Runs the company 32
Chair, board or owner 25
Founder, no executive role 8
No role 4
Retired 4
The person
- Born
- 28 Jun 1971South Africa
- Citizenship
- United States
- Lives in
- Austin, Texas, United States
- Education
- Bachelor's degreeBA in physics, University of Pennsylvania; BS in business, Wharton School
- Parents
- Not stated
What they give
- Giving Pledge
- Signed in 2012
- Foundation
- Musk Foundation
- Lifetime giving
- $0.5BForbes, 20 Apr 2026. Forbes' estimate of giving actually disbursed; he has moved $8.5 billion of Tesla stock into his foundations, mostly not yet paid out
Role and record
- Role now
- Runs the companyCEO of Tesla; CEO, CTO and chairman of SpaceX
- Successor
- None named
- Public office
- Senior advisor to the President (special government employee), leading the DOGE effort, 2025
- Legal record
- 2018, US SECSettled SEC securities-fraud charges over his 2018 tweets about taking Tesla private, without admitting or denying them; paid a $20 million civil penalty and stepped down as Tesla chairman.
- 2026, US District Court for D.C. (SEC case)In the SEC's case over late disclosure of his Twitter stake, a final judgment ordered his revocable trust, not him personally, to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty, without admitting or denying the allegations; the SEC said it would then dismiss the claims against him personally.
