The world's richest man is now richer than before

Elon Musk has made financial history by becoming the first individual ever to amass a net worth exceeding $600 billion. For any South Africans wondering, that is over R10 trillion.

The technology mogul passed the milestone earlier this week, driven by a massive surge in the value of his private aerospace company, SpaceX, solidifying his position as the world's wealthiest person by a historically large margin.

The dramatic increase in Musk’s fortune occurred after SpaceX reportedly launched a tender offer valuing the company at $800 billion—double its $400 billion valuation from August 2025.

As Musk owns an estimated 42% stake in the rocket maker, the revaluation added approximately $168 billion to his personal wealth in a single day, bringing his estimated net worth to $677 billion.

While Musk is widely known as the CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, his stake in SpaceX is now his most valuable asset, estimated at $336 billion.

However, Tesla remains a significant contributor. Despite flagging sales, the company's shares have risen 13% this year, bolstered by Musk's announcement regarding robotaxi testing. In November, Tesla shareholders approved the largest corporate pay package in history, a plan potentially worth $1 trillion, dependent on future performance milestones.

According to market analysts, Musk is now on a clear trajectory to becoming the world's first trillionaire, potentially as soon as 2026, when SpaceX is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of $1.5 trillion. Currently, Musk sits $425 billion ahead of the world's second-richest person, Google co-founder Larry Page.

The news of Musk's increasing fortune comes on the heels of a global petition launched by Tax Justice Network, urging Musk to redistribute a portion of his fortune, titled "Make Elon Musk the world’s richest man this Christmas". The campaign challenges Musk to gift 44% of his wealth to the world's children.

The group calculates that giving away roughly $216.8 billion would be enough to provide every living child under the age of 18, approximately 2.4 billion people, with a $90 gift card. The organisers calculated that such a donation would prevent over 100 million children from going hungry this holiday season.

Crucially, the petition highlights that even after such a donation, Musk would retain approximately $277.7 billion. This remaining sum would still leave him as the wealthiest person on the planet, just ahead of Larry Ellison.

Alex Cobham, chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, explained that the petition aims to draw attention to the distinction between "earned wealth" (salaries) and "collected wealth" (asset appreciation like stocks and real estate).

"Our economies are supposed to let us earn the wealth we need to lead secure and comfortable lives, but most countries’ tax rules make it easier for the superrich to collect wealth than for the rest of us to earn it," Cobham stated. He added that for an average worker to match Musk's accumulated wealth, they would need to work for a period 20 times to a thousand times longer than humans have existed.

To break down the wealth gap, imagine the global economy as a race. 'Earned wealth' is like running a marathon where you move forward step by step based on your physical effort. 'Collected wealth', which Musk benefits from, is like standing on a moving walkway that accelerates exponentially. While the runner (the average worker) exerts maximum effort to inch forward, the person on the walkway (the billionaire) is propelled kilometres ahead simply by standing still on their assets.

The petition also offers an alternative demand for signatories: the implementation of a 2% wealth tax on the superrich, which research suggests could raise $2 trillion annually for public services and climate finance.

Beyond SpaceX and Tesla, Musk’s wealth is also being bolstered by his artificial intelligence startup, xAI. The company is reportedly in advanced talks to raise $15 billion in fresh equity, which would value the startup at $230 billion. Musk is estimated to own a 53% stake in xAI Holdings.

IOL