Elon Musk could become the world&rsquo;s first trillionaire as early as 2026, with his net worth climbing to an estimated $850 billion in February. He recently crossed the $800 billion mark, setting a new benchmark in global wealth rankings.
Musk&rsquo;s fortune now exceeds the combined wealth of Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg, highlighting the scale of his financial lead.
A major boost has come from a recent deal between SpaceX and xAI. The aerospace firm acquired Musk&rsquo;s AI and social media venture in a transaction valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion. With an estimated 43% ownership in the merged company, Musk&rsquo;s stake alone is valued at over $530 billion, accounting for nearly two-thirds of his total wealth.
However, the merger comes amid regulatory scrutiny across Europe, Asia, Australia and California over xAI&rsquo;s image-generation tool, Grok, following concerns around explicit deepfake content.
According to the Manhattan-based prediction platform Kalshi, traders currently assign a 75% probability that Musk will achieve trillionaire status this year. Most expect it to happen before 2029, with strong sentiment pointing to 2026 or 2027.
A potential SpaceX IPO could further accelerate his rise, possibly pushing his net worth toward $1.5 trillion. Meanwhile, his 12% stake in Tesla, along with substantial stock options and a record-breaking compensation package approved by shareholders, continues to underpin his expanding fortune.

SpaceX-xAI deal fuels surge in Musk’s soaring net worth

Musk Eyes Trillionaire Milestone in 2026

SpaceX-xAI deal fuels surge in Musk’s soaring net worth

February 17, 2026 | 11:29 IST