Elon Musk’s personal fortune surged to $749 billion late Friday after the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated a previously voided Tesla pay package, according to the Forbes billionaires index. The court restored Musk’s 2018 compensation deal—at one point valued at $56 billion—which had been struck down by a lower court two years ago as “unfathomable.”
Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware’s Chancery Court, who previously handled the dispute, had invalidated Musk’s 2018 pay package on the grounds that its size was unfair to shareholders, despite its approval during shareholder votes on two separate occasions.
The Supreme Court determined that the 2024 decision rescinding the stock options, now valued at $139 billion, was both improper and inequitable to Musk. The ruling awards him the option to purchase 303 million split-adjusted Tesla shares, based on Friday’s closing price.
Last week, Musk achieved another milestone by becoming the first individual to surpass a $600 billion net worth, following speculation that his aerospace firm SpaceX may be preparing for an initial public offering.
In a separate development last November, Tesla shareholders gave the green light to a record-setting $1 trillion pay plan for Musk, affirming confidence in his ambitions to transform the electric vehicle manufacturer into a leading force in artificial intelligence and robotics.
Forbes’ billionaires list now shows Musk ranks well ahead of Google co-founder Larry Page, the world’s second-wealthiest individual, with a lead of nearly $500 billion.
