Musk towards the historic milestone: when the first trilionaire in history could become a reality

In 2025, Elon Musk wrote an unprecedented chapter in the history of human wealth. With a net worth reaching approximately $750 billion, the entrepreneur is now just a few steps away from crossing the symbolic trillion-dollar mark, marking the most significant annual wealth growth ever recorded.

According to Barron’s analysis, Musk’s wealth increase over the year has reached extraordinary figures: considering stock options from the 2018 Tesla compensation plan, the growth has hit $400 billion. This acceleration is such that Musk would earn the average annual income of an American family in less than 7 seconds. Even excluding the underlying options, the additional wealth has exceeded $250 billion—an amount equivalent to the entire net worth of Larry Page, co-founder of Alphabet.

SpaceX: the main engine behind Musk’s wealth rise

The transformation of SpaceX’s valuation is at the core of this unprecedented wealth dynamic. The aerospace company has seen its valuation nearly triple, from about $350 billion to $800 billion. With Musk holding approximately 40% of the company’s shares, this appreciation has directly translated into his personal wealth.

The success of Starlink, the satellite connectivity service that has reached over 8 million customers, along with emerging prospects of managing AI data centers in orbit, has fueled market optimism toward SpaceX. The company, responsible for more than half of all orbital launches worldwide, is charting a path toward a potential initial public offering.

Market signals suggest that a future IPO could value SpaceX between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion. If this scenario materializes, Musk would gain an additional $300 billion in wealth from this single operation, surpassing the $1 trillion net worth threshold even before fully receiving the remaining Tesla stock-based rewards tied to covenants.

The Tesla ruling that changed the game

A crucial element in Musk’s wealth equation lies in the Delaware Supreme Court decision in 2025. After a judge had twice annulled the 2018 Tesla compensation plan, the court reversed previous rulings, restoring the full validity of the incentive plan.

However, the path to fully unlocking this mega-reward remains conditional on specific milestones. Musk will need to bring Tesla to a market capitalization of about $8.5 trillion for the stock option award—comprising approximately 425 million shares—to reach its maximum value of around $1 trillion.

It is noteworthy that current estimates of $750 billion do not yet formally include the allocation of these shares, which were approved by shareholders in November 2025.

From turbulent scenario to record-breaking year: the metamorphosis of 2025

The beginning of 2025 presented a radically different atmosphere. Tense relations between Musk and the Trump administration, declines in Tesla sales attributed to reputational consequences of public political positions, and tariff policies that had pushed the Nasdaq into negative territory, created a discouraging picture.

By mid-April, excluding benefits from pending options, Musk’s net worth had fallen to $300 billion. The situation seemed destined for a prolonged period of difficulty.

However, the trajectory quickly reversed. With the gradual recovery of markets, strategic convergence between xAI and X, and the acceleration of SpaceX operations, the context changed dramatically. Data provided by Rainmaker Securities, based on aggressive industry report projections, shows that Musk not only recovered losses but also established a new benchmark for annual wealth growth.

The historical significance of this accumulation

Musk’s prospect of reaching trilionaire status gains further significance when placed in a historical context. In the early 20th century, Rockefeller’s nearly $1 billion fortune represented about 2% of the US GDP. In the contemporary scenario, if Musk consolidates a trillion-dollar wealth, it would constitute roughly 3% of the American GDP.

This phenomenon reflects not only the extraordinarily high valuations attributed by markets to Musk’s entrepreneurial ecosystem but also the growing dominant role of big tech companies in the modern global economic structure. The speed and scale of this accumulation are redefining the parameters of modern economic influence.