Elon Musk has shattered another financial glass ceiling, officially becoming the first person in history to reach a net worth of over $700 billion, according to Forbes’ billionaires index. This massive surge in wealth follows a landmark decision from the Delaware Supreme Court on Friday, which moved to reinstate his long-disputed 2018 Tesla compensation package.
The ruling, as reported by Reuters, effectively reverses a previous lower court decision that had labeled the pay deal “unfathomable” and sought to void it. The Supreme Court clarified that the 2024 ruling to rescind the package was improper and inequitable toward Musk. The 2018 package consists of approximately 304 million exercisable stock options with a strike price of $23.34. Based on Friday’s closing trade price, these options alone are valued at roughly $139.2 billion before taxes.
The court’s decision to reinstate the pay package came down on Friday, providing a definitive resolution to years of legal uncertainty. Interestingly, Tesla’s board had previously granted Musk an interim stock award worth $29 billion earlier this year to keep him aligned with the company during the appeals process. However, that temporary award will now count as an advance against the original 300 million-share award to prevent “double dipping.”
Musk’s financial standing has been skyrocketing lately. Just this week, his net worth surpassed $600 billion following reports of a potential SpaceX IPO. This comes shortly after he crossed the $500 billion mark in October. With Tesla shareholders also having approved a separate $1 trillion pay plan for Musk in November to lead the company to historic new heights, his lead over other billionaires is widening. He currently leads Google co-founder Larry Page by nearly $500 billion.
While Musk faces a significant tax bill upon exercising these options by the January 2028 deadline — including California’s 13.3% top tax rate — he has various ways to fund it, including his 42% stake in SpaceX or his xAI venture, currently valued at $230 billion. For now, prediction markets are highly bullish on Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire.
