Elon Musk’s wealth soars to $852bn after SpaceX–xAI deal

• Elon Musk’s net worth has jumped to $852bn after SpaceX acquired his AI firm, xAI
• The deal values the combined company at about $1.25tn and added roughly $84bn to his wealth
• Forbes estimates Musk now owns about 43% of the merged entity, worth around $542bn

Elon Musk has vaulted far ahead of every other billionaire after a major corporate transaction between two of his companies lifted his estimated net worth to $852 billion.

Forbes says Musk’s fortune jumped sharply following the acquisition of artificial intelligence and social media firm xAI by his rocket company, SpaceX. 

The deal, announced on Monday, February 2, values the combined business at about $1.25 trillion and is believed to have added roughly $84 billion to Musk’s personal wealth.

The merger significantly reshapes Musk’s business empire. Before the transaction, SpaceX was valued at around $800 billion after a December tender offer, with Musk holding about 42%, a stake worth approximately $336 billion.

xAI, meanwhile, had been valued at $250 billion in a recent private fundraising round, in which Musk owned close to 49%, translating to about $122 billion.

Following the consolidation, placing SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion, Forbes estimates Musk now controls around 43% of the combined entity. That holding alone is valued at about $542 billion, making SpaceX his most valuable asset by a wide margin.

Musk also retains sizeable interests elsewhere. He owns roughly 12% of Tesla, currently worth an estimated $178 billion, along with stock options valued at about $124 billion.

Musk’s rise to extraordinary wealth has accelerated over the past year. In October 2025, he became the first person to surpass $500 billion as Tesla shares surged.

By mid-December, his fortune crossed $600 billion after SpaceX’s valuation doubled, and days later climbed beyond $700 billion when a court ruling restored his Tesla stock options.

Now sitting at $852 billion, Musk towers over the world’s second-richest person, Google co-founder Larry Page, whose wealth is estimated at $281 billion. The massive gap underscores Musk’s dominance in global wealth rankings and puts him within reach of becoming the first trillionaire.

The figures do not yet include the full impact of Tesla’s controversial performance-based pay package approved by shareholders in November. If entirely unlocked over the next decade, the award could grant Musk up to $1 trillion worth of additional Tesla shares, depending on taxes and strict market-capitalisation targets.

The SpaceX–xAI deal is also the second major merger among Musk-controlled firms in under a year. In March 2025, he merged xAI with his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in a transaction that valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion.

Although Musk’s role on both sides of these deals has raised questions about valuation transparency, the latest consolidation is expected to draw even closer scrutiny, especially as SpaceX is widely tipped to pursue an initial public offering in 2026.

Elon Musk’s net worth hits $447 billion

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Elon Musk’s net worth had reached $447 billion, further establishing him as the world’s richest man. The increase was driven by the positive performance of his many ventures like electric vehicles, space exploration, Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and tunnelling technologies.