Elon Musk has been holding the title of the richest man in the world since 2024, outpacing LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault. xAI and Grok’s founder seems to accumulate more wealth every year- starting off at $30 billion (£22.38 billion) in 2020, and growing it to $780 billion (£581.85 billion) by 2026. That means Musk is $20 billion (£14.92 billion) shy of becoming the world’s first person ever to be worth $800 billion (£596.77 billion).
As confirmed by Forbes, xAI Holdings had private investors pour in $20 billion (£14.92 billion) in January of 2026, hitting a $250 million (£186.49 million) valuation – $113 billion (£84.29 billion) more than the valuation Musk confirmed in March as he merged X (formerly Twitter) with AI startup xAI.
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Elon Musk’s $44-billion Twitter deal in 2022 was backed by investors such as Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, and Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, each of whom pitched in $1 billion (£0.75 billion). According to Forbes, the Saudi Prince owns approximately 1.6% of the stakes in xAI Holdings, worth roughly $4 billion (£2.98 billion). This boosted the prince’s net worth to $600,000 (£447579.16), short of the $20 billion (£14.92 billion) mark. Dorsey and Ellison both own roughly 0.8% of xAI Holdings, which translates to $2.1 billion (£1.57 billion).
xAI and Musk’s Gains and Losses
xAI made the news throughout 2024 as it went on a spending spree in the global AI rivalry. It was reported to have forked out a staggering $7.8 billion (£5.82 billion) before the year ended, per a Bloomberg report based on documents. Its reported net loss was at $1.46 billion (£1.09 billion) by September of 2024– slightly higher than the first quarter’s $1 billion (£0.75 billion).
With a goal of building self-sustaining artificial intelligence (AI) models capable of operating humanoid robots like Optimus, xAI is utilising funds raised from private investors. Optimus is Tesla Inc.’s humanoid robot designed to take over human jobs.
In October of 2025, Elon Musk announced stepping down from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In merely five months, Tesla’s stock price rose to almost twice its value, and Musk set the record for the first person in the world to be worth $500 billion (£372.98 billion). Musk became the first person in the world to be worth $600 billion (£447.58 billion) in December, when SpaceX was valued at $800 million (£596.77 million), double its $400 (£298.39) valuation just a few months earlier.
In just a few days, after a lower court ruling was overturned by the Delaware Supreme Court and $126 billion (£93.99 billion) in Tesla stock options were awarded to Musk, he became the world’s first person ever to be worth $700 billion (£522.18 billion).
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), Elon Musk’s aerospace company founded in 2022, has recently surged at an $800 billion valuation, while his Tesla assets, which is 12% of the common stock, amount to $307 billion (£229.01 billion). Tesla has a market cap of $1.46 trillion (£1.09 trillion).
Financial documents shared with Bloomberg record xAI’s quarter-over-quarter revenue at $107 million (£79.82 million). Musk has been known to fuse his resources across his separate investments. For instance, he has integrated Grok fully with X (formerly Twitter) and into his Tesla vehicles. SpaceX has also been investing in xAI, while it has invested several hundred million dollars in Tesla batteries.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
