Elon Musk has become the first person to reach a net worth of $500bn, bringing the Tesla chief executive halfway to trillionaire status.
Musk’s wealth temporarily crossed the half-trillion mark on Wednesday before retreating to $499bn, according to the Forbes billionaires list.
Musk owns 12% of Tesla, which is worth more than $1.5tn, and his wealth has been boosted this year by surge in the electric carmaker’s share price.
$1.5t is the market cap which is simply stock price x # of shares. It has no direct correlation to the assets of the company or the amount of profit it makes. People misunderstand market cap and what it means all the time.