Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is on the verge of becoming the world's first trillionaire, with an estimated net worth of $970 billion. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis, this staggering fortune translates into an income of roughly $992 per second, or about €912 per second at current exchange rates. To put that in perspective, an average American household earning the median income would need to work for more than 11 million years to accumulate the same wealth.
A human money machine
The breakdown of Musk's per-second earnings is almost incomprehensible. Every minute, he gains around $59,500 (€55,000); every hour, $3.6 million (€3.3 million); every day, $85.7 million (€80 million); and every year, over $31 billion (€29 billion). These figures are calculated based on the growth of his net worth over the 31 years since he founded his first company, Zip2, in 1995. Since then, Musk has built a portfolio that includes PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink, and the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Each venture has contributed to his astronomical rise, but the bulk of his current wealth is tied to his stakes in SpaceX and Tesla.
To better visualize the scale, consider that $992 per second is more than the annual median wage in the United States, which hovers around $75,000 per year. In other words, Musk earns in about 75 seconds what an average American worker earns in an entire year. If he were to drop a $100 bill every second, it would take him over 300 years to deplete his current fortune.
Power beyond nations
Musk's wealth has grown so large that it now exceeds the annual gross domestic product (GDP) of more than 125 countries, including his native South Africa, as well as nations like Argentina, Thailand, Norway, and Nigeria. Representing nearly 3% of the total U.S. GDP, Musk's net worth far surpasses that of historical tycoons. John D. Rockefeller, at his peak in the early 20th century, controlled about 1.5% of the U.S. economy—a fortune worth roughly $487 billion in today's dollars. Musk's current valuation is nearly double that, even after adjusting for inflation.
With $970 billion, Musk could purchase approximately 2.4 million average American homes, or more than 10,000 Gulfstream G700 private jets. He could buy all 32 NFL franchises (estimated at about $350 billion) and all 30 NBA teams (around $100 billion), and still have over $500 billion left over. This level of purchasing power is unprecedented in human history.
Volatile engines: SpaceX and Tesla
Musk's empire rests almost entirely on two volatile assets: his stakes in SpaceX and Tesla. According to the analysis, his ownership in SpaceX is valued at $538 billion, his Tesla shares at $167 billion, and his stock options in Tesla at $150 billion. Together, these account for the vast majority of his net worth. Musk has repeatedly stated that he holds "less than 0.1% of that in cash," meaning his wealth is highly illiquid and subject to the whims of the stock market and investor sentiment.
The upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX, scheduled for June 12, is expected to significantly increase Musk's paper fortune. SpaceX, which has already achieved profitability through its Starlink satellite internet service and reusable rocket launches, is widely anticipated to be valued at over $1 trillion post-IPO. If that materializes, Musk's stake could push him well beyond the trillion-dollar mark, solidifying his status as the first trillionaire. The IPO will also likely unlock additional liquidity, allowing Musk to convert some of his equity into cash without diluting his control.
Historical and contextual background
Musk's journey began in Pretoria, South Africa, where he was born in 1971. After moving to Canada and then the United States, he co-founded Zip2, a web software company, which was sold to Compaq for $307 million in 1999. He then founded X.com, an online payment company that later became PayPal, sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002. With the proceeds, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 and invested in Tesla in 2004, eventually becoming its CEO and leading the company to dominate the electric vehicle market.
Under Musk's leadership, Tesla revolutionized the automotive industry and became the most valuable carmaker in the world by market capitalization. SpaceX, meanwhile, disrupted the aerospace sector with reusable rockets, reducing the cost of space access and securing contracts with NASA, the U.S. military, and commercial customers. Neuralink, founded in 2016, is developing brain-computer interfaces, while The Boring Company focuses on tunnel infrastructure and hyperloop transportation. His acquisition of Twitter (now X) in 2022 for $44 billion was controversial but added a major social media platform to his portfolio.
Despite his enormous wealth, Musk's compensation has been a subject of intense debate. In 2018, Tesla's board approved a CEO performance award package that could potentially be worth $55 billion, making it the largest such plan in history. A Delaware judge later struck down the package in 2024, but Tesla shareholders voted to reinstate it in 2025, highlighting the deep support Musk enjoys from many investors.
Implications and risks
The concentration of Musk's wealth in a few volatile assets poses significant risks. A downturn in Tesla's stock price or a failed IPO for SpaceX could wipe out hundreds of billions in paper value. In 2022 alone, Tesla shares lost over 65% of their value, trimming Musk's net worth by more than $200 billion at one point. However, the company's recovery in subsequent years, driven by strong earnings and the Cybertruck launch, has more than reversed those losses.
Economists and policymakers have raised concerns about the growing concentration of wealth in the hands of a few individuals. Musk's fortune is now larger than the combined wealth of the bottom 50% of Americans, according to some estimates. This disparity has fueled calls for wealth taxes, stronger antitrust enforcement, and reforms to the executive compensation system. Musk himself has acknowledged the issue, tweeting in 2021 that "I am accumulating resources to help make humanity a multi-planet species & extend the light of consciousness to the stars." His philanthropic initiatives, such as the Musk Foundation, have donated to education, renewable energy, and space exploration, but critics argue that his giving is modest relative to his net worth.
Looking ahead, the SpaceX IPO is being closely watched as a bellwether for the private space industry. If successful, it could trigger a wave of space-related investments and further enrich Musk. Meanwhile, Tesla continues to expand its energy storage business and autonomous driving capabilities, while Neuralink's first human trials have shown promising results. The Boring Company has also won contracts for underground transit systems in Las Vegas and other cities.
Elon Musk's journey from a struggling immigrant to the world's richest person is a testament to the power of innovation, ambition, and risk-taking. His per-second earnings, while staggering, reflect the immense value that financial markets place on his ability to disrupt industries and shape the future. Whether he will become the first trillionaire later this year remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the numbers are unlike anything the world has ever witnessed.
Source: ladepeche.fr News