Elon Musk was no longer a trillionaire by the time markets closed on Wednesday. Plunging shares in Tesla and SpaceX dragged the tech magnate down to billionaire status, with Forbes listing his net worth as $970.2bn as of 4pm ET.
Musk had reached trillionaire status just 12 days earlier, on 12 June, after SpaceX’s historic initial public offering. The rocket, satellite and AI company’s debut on the stock market made him the first person with a net worth of more than $1tn, and his fortune hovered around that figure in the weeks following the IPO.
“Elon Musk lost his trillionaire status after SpaceX and Tesla shares plunged, with Forbes valuing him at $970bn.”
That changed this week amid a global stock selloff triggered by investor concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates, combined with looming fears of an AI bubble. Major tech stocks suffered sharp declines, hitting companies heavily linked to the AI boom – including Google’s parent, Alphabet, and chipmakers such as Samsung – especially hard.
SpaceX, which raised a record $75bn from its IPO, saw its stocks fall from an initial surge to $154.35 on Wednesday, down from a 19% gain within 24 hours of going public. The drop wiped $350bn from Musk’s net worth, according to Sky Business.
Most of Musk’s wealth remains tied up in stock and equity – not cash he can quickly spend – but his fortune is unprecedented, not just for its size but the speed at which it grew. Despite the loss of his trillionaire status, Musk is easily still the world’s richest person. The next wealthiest billionaire, Google co-founder Larry Page, has a net worth of about $284bn, according to Forbes. Musk made more money than Page’s entire fortune this year alone, increasing his net worth by $338bn since January.
Market fluctuations mean it is possible that Musk could regain his trillionaire status in the near future if either Tesla or SpaceX shares rebound.