Top 10 Richest Men in the World as Elon Musk Hits $500 Billion: October 2025 Rankings

In a landmark moment that has redefined the scale of personal wealth, Elon Musk has become the first individual in history to reach a net worth of $500 billion. This extraordinary milestone, achieved on Wednesday, 1st October 2025, underscores not only Musk’s dominance as an entrepreneur but also the vast influence of technology, space exploration, and artificial intelligence in shaping modern fortunes.

Musk’s wealth briefly crossed the $500 billion threshold before settling at $499.1 billion, a figure still unimaginable just a few years ago. To put this into context, Musk’s net worth is greater than the GDP of many countries and rivals the market value of some of the world’s largest corporations.

Less than a year ago, in December 2024, he became the first person to surpass $400 billion, highlighting the rapid acceleration of his financial growth.

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How Musk Built His Fortune

Much of Musk’s fortune is tied to Tesla, where he holds around 12% of shares. Tesla remains the world’s most valuable automaker and has seen its stock price rise nearly 17% year-to-date as of October 2025. Investor confidence in sustainable energy and autonomous driving continues to drive the company’s valuation. Musk further demonstrated his faith in Tesla by purchasing more than 2.5 million additional shares, worth about $1 billion, earlier this year.

Beyond Tesla, Musk owns 42% of SpaceX, which is valued at $400 billion. SpaceX has disrupted the aerospace industry with reusable rocket technology, secured high-value government contracts, and expanded internet access worldwide through its Starlink satellite constellation.

The company’s ambitions to colonise Mars and maintain dominance in commercial launches have solidified its role as one of the most important private firms in history.

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Adding to this empire is xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence venture. With AI shaping up to be the defining technology of the 21st century, xAI’s emergence has added significantly to Musk’s net worth. Positioned at the intersection of innovation and global demand, xAI enhances Musk’s portfolio and ensures he remains at the forefront of transformative technology.

Wealth and Inequality

The $500 billion milestone comes at a time of growing debate about extreme wealth and global inequality. Supporters hail Musk’s role in advancing sustainable energy, revolutionising space exploration, and pushing the boundaries of technology.

Critics, however, argue that the concentration of such immense wealth in the hands of one person highlights the widening gap between billionaires and the average citizen.

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Some analysts believe Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire. Given that he added $100 billion in under a year, the possibility of a trillion-dollar net worth no longer seems far-fetched if current trends persist.

The following table presents the current rankings of the world's ten wealthiest individuals as of October 3 2025 per Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires tracker. The list that reflects the dominance of technology entrepreneurs, the enduring power of luxury goods empires, and the transformative impact of digital innovation on wealth creation.