Elon Musk was estimated to be worth $979.7 billion on Forbes’s real-time billionaires list at 2:15 p.m. ET on October 2, 2026, according to Yahoo Finance. That put him close to—but below—$1 trillion at that specific time. The SpaceX-xAI transaction helped reshape estimates of his wealth, but its reported $1.25 trillion valuation was for the combined companies, not Musk’s personal fortune.
How much is Elon Musk worth?
The latest dated figure in the available reporting is $979.7 billion, a Forbes real-time-list estimate reported by Yahoo Finance at 2:15 p.m. ET on October 2, 2026. It is a snapshot, not an audited balance sheet or a permanently fixed total. A live estimate can change as share prices and the valuations assigned to private holdings change.
Forbes had previously shown $886.4 billion in a real-time-list snapshot last updated September 16, 2026. The later October figure is a different reading at a different time, not a reason to treat either amount as a timeless answer. Forbes’s real-time billionaires list updates dynamically. Yahoo Finance’s October 2 report gives the time attached to the $979.7 billion reading.
Is Elon Musk a trillionaire?
Not according to the Forbes estimate reported on October 2: $979.7 billion is $20.3 billion short of $1 trillion. The distinction matters because an earlier June estimate did cross that mark. Forbes estimated Musk’s net worth at $982 billion after SpaceX priced its IPO shares at $135 on June 11, 2026, then at $1.1 trillion after trading began June 12. Those were estimates tied to IPO pricing and early trading, not the October 2 reading. Forbes described him as the first trillionaire in a June 12 announcement; that headline reflected its estimate at that point in time, rather than a guarantee his estimated wealth would remain above the threshold. Forbes’s June 12 announcement details those figures.
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What the SpaceX-xAI deal was valued at—and what that says about Musk’s wealth
SpaceX announced that it had acquired xAI. Bloomberg reported a $1.25 trillion combined transaction valuation, comprising $1 trillion for SpaceX and $250 billion for xAI, with those component values attributed to people familiar with the deal. These are company transaction valuations, not amounts Musk personally received or owns as cash.
To estimate an owner’s net worth, a tracker must account for the person’s ownership stake, share classes, options, liabilities, other assets and its valuation approach. A company valued at $1 trillion does not automatically add $1 trillion to an owner’s fortune. Bloomberg’s February report describes the transaction and its attributed valuation; Bloomberg’s deal report was updated February 3, 2026.
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Musk described the acquisition as forming “the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth,” according to Axios’s account of his statement. That is the company’s strategic framing, not evidence that the deal will succeed or that its valuation will hold. Axios’s February 2 report reproduces the statement.
Why Musk’s estimated net worth changed around the IPO
The shift in Forbes’s estimates around June 11 and 12 shows how closely a large personal-wealth estimate can track the market value assigned to a major holding. Forbes put the estimate at $982 billion after SpaceX priced its shares at $135, then at $1.1 trillion after trading began. The two figures refer to different moments and market bases; they should not be read as simultaneous estimates.
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On IPO day, the Associated Press reported that SpaceX’s market value rose above $2 trillion intraday, while Forbes’s personal-wealth estimate for Musk stood at $1.1 trillion. The company’s market capitalization and Musk’s net worth are different measures: one values all of a company’s shares at market prices, while the other estimates the value of an individual’s assets after applying ownership and other assumptions.
The AP also reported that SpaceX was losing money and that Morningstar analysts considered the IPO significantly overvalued. It described risks involving orbital data-center technology and xAI’s path to profitability. Those are attributed cautions from the report and the analysts it cites, not a definitive valuation ruling. The Associated Press’s June 12 IPO report provides that context.
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Why wealth trackers can report different figures
Net-worth lists estimate rather than directly observe a person’s complete financial position, and their methods need not match. Bloomberg says it values public-company stakes using the latest closing share price, while closely held companies receive profile-specific valuation treatment. That means the share-price timestamp and the assumptions used for private businesses can affect the resulting total.
When comparing estimates, check the tracker, timestamp and valuation basis together. Forbes’s September 16 snapshot of $886.4 billion, its June IPO-related estimates of $982 billion and $1.1 trillion, and the October 2 report of $979.7 billion refer to different dates or market moments. They are not interchangeable readings from one fixed balance sheet. Bloomberg explains its approach in its Billionaires Index methodology and its Elon Musk profile.
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