Elon Musk Becomes First $800 Billion Individual After SpaceX–xAI Mega Merger
Elon Musk has set a new global benchmark for personal wealth, becoming the first individual ever valued at $800 billion or more. The milestone follows a major transaction in which SpaceX, Musk’s private rocket company, acquired his artificial intelligence and social media business, xAI. According to Forbes, the merger values the combined enterprise at $1.25 trillion and added an estimated $84 billion to Musk’s fortune, lifting his net worth to an unprecedented $852 billion.
Elon Musk’s net worth surges to a record $852 billion after SpaceX acquires xAI in a deal valuing the combined company at $1.25 trillion, according to Forbes.
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Before the deal was finalized, Musk’s ownership structure included a 42% stake in SpaceX, valued at $336 billion. That valuation stemmed from a December tender offer that priced the privately held aerospace firm at $800 billion. Musk also held an estimated 49% of xAI, a stake worth $122 billion based on a recent private funding round that placed the company’s valuation at $250 billion.
Once the merger was completed, SpaceX was valued at $1 trillion, while xAI retained its $250 billion valuation. Forbes now estimates that Musk owns roughly 43% of the newly combined company, giving him a stake valued at about $542 billion.
This transaction firmly positions SpaceX as Musk’s most valuable holding. He also maintains a 12% ownership interest in Tesla, currently worth $178 billion, along with Tesla stock options valued at an additional $124 billion. These figures exclude a landmark compensation package approved by Tesla shareholders in November, which could grant Musk up to $1 trillion in extra stock before taxes and vesting expenses. That package is contingent on Tesla achieving aggressive “Mars shot” goals, including increasing its market capitalization more than eightfold over the next ten years.
The SpaceX–xAI acquisition represents the second merger between Musk-controlled companies within a year. In March of the previous year, Musk revealed that xAI had been combined with his social media platform X, formerly Twitter. That deal valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion, nearly matching the price Musk paid for Twitter in 2022 when excluding debt.
Musk’s involvement on both sides of these transactions has prompted debate over the stated valuations. However, with these businesses now consolidated under SpaceX and an initial public offering expected later this year, the companies are set to undergo the examination that comes with public market exposure.
Over just four months, Musk has passed four historic wealth thresholds. In October, he became the first person to reach $500 billion after Tesla shares surged following his exit from President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency to concentrate on Tesla. On December 15, Musk crossed $600 billion when private investors doubled SpaceX’s valuation from $400 billion in August to $800 billion. Four days afterward, he surpassed $700 billion following a Delaware Supreme Court ruling that restored his Tesla stock options, which had been nullified by a lower court in 2024.
Musk’s current fortune places him $578 billion ahead of the world’s second-wealthiest individual, Google cofounder Larry Page, whose net worth is estimated at $281 billion. At that distance, Musk is effectively half a Larry Page away from becoming the first trillionaire in history.
