On February 2, 2026, Elon Musk became the first person in history to have a personal net worth above $850 billion, reaching about $852.5 billion, according to recent financial estimates. This was a historic moment because no one has ever been this rich before. His enormous wealth jump came after a major business decision involving two of his biggest companies: SpaceX and xAI.
SpaceX, Musk’s space exploration and rocket company, officially acquired xAI, the artificial intelligence firm he started, in a deal worth about $1.25 trillion. In this deal, the combined value of SpaceX and xAI was about $1.25 trillion, with SpaceX valued at roughly $1 trillion and xAI at about $250 billion. Because Musk owns a large portion of both companies, the merger added roughly $84 billion to his personal fortune. That sudden increase pushed his net worth to around $852 billion, making him the richest person alive by a wide margin.
Part of the reason Musk’s wealth soared is that SpaceX has become his most valuable asset. After the merger, Forbes estimated that Musk owns about 43% of the combined company, giving that stake a huge value, much more than his shares in Tesla, his electric vehicle company. Before the deal, Musk owned about 42% of SpaceX and about 49% of xAI, and both companies were already worth tens of billions on their own.
This achievement did not just put him ahead of all other billionaires; it also put him far ahead of his closest rival. Musk is estimated to be hundreds of billions of dollars richer than the second richest person in the world. At the same time, his wealth jumped; several of Musk’s peers—including well‑known tech founders like Google’s Larry Page—saw their net worths fall slightly, a contrast that highlighted just how far Musk has pulled ahead in the global rankings.
There’s also a broader context behind this surprising story. The merger between SpaceX and xAI is part of Musk’s larger vision to combine space technology with artificial intelligence to build advanced systems that could include AI data centers in space powered by solar energy. This idea reflects Musk’s belief that future artificial intelligence will require enormous computing power and energy that might be easier to supply from orbit rather than on Earth.
The deal may also set the stage for an initial public offering (IPO) for the combined company later in 2026, which could make public markets finally put a price tag on what has been a very valuable private business so far. If that happens, it could be one of the largest IPOs ever seen.
In simple terms, Elon Musk’s leap past $850 billion came from a huge merger between two of his own companies, boosting their value and, with it, his personal fortune. It’s a very rare financial milestone that reflects not just his business success, but also the bold and sometimes controversial bets he’s making on the future of technology.