Elon Musk's net worth briefly crossing the trillion-dollar mark in June 2026 has sharpened focus on US wealth inequality, with the Tesla and SpaceX chief's fortune now comparable to what nearly half the American population owns combined. The milestone, reached as Musk turned 55 and as SpaceX began trading publicly, lasted only days before a sharp drop, but the scale of his wealth remains historically unprecedented.
Musk became the world's first trillionaire on 12 June 2026 when SpaceX stock opened at $150, pushing his fortune past $1 trillion. Within days, that figure slipped to around $957 billion after shares fell, a drop of roughly $120 billion, one of the steepest declines recorded. Even so, the broader trajectory is unmistakable. His wealth stood at $370 billion just a year earlier, underscoring a rate of accumulation rarely seen in modern finance.
