Elon Musk Is the World's First Trillionaire. Here's Where His Wealth Is Stored.
Key Points
Only about 0.1% of Musk's assets are held in cash and cash equivalents.
His wealth will naturally fluctuate with the stock prices of his companies.
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In the wake of the record-setting initial public offering of Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX), widely known as SpaceX, Elon Musk just officially became the world's first trillionaire. Forbes, which tracks these things, puts his current net worth at $1.3 trillion. So, where does he store all that money?
Little of it is in cash or cash equivalents such as money market funds, certificates of deposit, or short-term Treasury bills. Such liquid assets make up only about 0.1% of his wealth, Musk said recently. Still, that's at least $1 billion, more than enough cash on hand for everyday expenses for anyone. Even for Musk, presumably.
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The vast bulk of his enormous fortune is in the stocks of his two main companies, SpaceX and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA).
Musk reportedly owns at least 38% of SpaceX, including stock options. The company's market cap is currently about $2.6 trillion, so that stake is worth about $1 trillion, give or take a few tens of billions.
He owns about 10% of Tesla, which is currently valued at about $1.5 trillion, so his stake is worth about $150 billion.
Musk is also a founder of several other businesses, including tunnel driller The Boring Company and brain implant company Neuralink. Both are still privately held, so it's unclear exactly what they're worth, but The Wall Street Journal estimates $5 billion each.
Image source: Getty Images.
Because most of Musk's wealth is in publicly traded companies, his fortune fluctuates with their market capitalizations, as reflected by their share prices. As those investments go, so goes his fortune.
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Matthew Benjamin has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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