The math behind Elon Musk becoming the world’s first half-trillionaire is both simple and stunning. A 13% year-to-date gain in a single stock, Tesla, was enough to push his net worth into a realm never seen before.
It begins with Tesla’s colossal valuation, which now stands at over $1.5 trillion. Musk owns approximately 12% of the company. A simple calculation ($1.5 trillion * 0.12) shows this stake alone is worth around $180 billion. However, his total net worth includes massive holdings in private companies like SpaceX and xAI.
The key driver was the stock’s performance in 2025. A 13% rise on a valuation of this size creates an astronomical amount of new wealth. For Musk personally, this gain added tens of billions of dollars to his net worth, providing the momentum needed to cross the historic $500 billion threshold.
This stock gain wasn’t arbitrary; it was fueled by concrete results. The announcement of 497,099 vehicle deliveries in the third quarter provided the fundamental justification for the market’s optimism, proving the company’s growth trajectory remains strong.
When combined with the estimated value of his 42% stake in a SpaceX potentially worth $400 billion and his holdings in the $75 billion xAI, the numbers add up. This week’s milestone is a clear example of how percentage gains on mega-cap assets can generate wealth on a scale that redefines financial history.