Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has responded to growing speculation that he could soon become the world’s first trillionaire, clarifying that most of his wealth is tied to company shares rather than cash.
Reacting to a post by prediction platform Kalshi on X (formerly Twitter), which suggested high odds of him reaching a $1 trillion net worth, Musk said he has already created wealth “thousands of times over.” He explained that his net worth is “almost entirely” based on his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX, adding that less than 0.1% of it is in cash. He also noted that Tesla is more than 80% owned by retail investors and pension or index funds, meaning that gains in the company’s value largely benefit other shareholders.
Speculation about Musk’s potential trillionaire status has intensified following reports that SpaceX merged with xAI, valuing the combined entity at about $1.25 trillion. Musk’s estimated 43% stake in the new company is said to be worth over $530 billion. In addition, he holds roughly 12% of Tesla, valued at about $178 billion, along with stock options reportedly worth another $124 billion.
Musk’s comments highlight that his fortune is largely dependent on market valuations rather than liquid assets, reinforcing the idea that billionaire “net worth” figures often reflect share prices rather than cash holdings.
