Right now the richest man in the world is Elon Musk. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (January 2026), its net worth is estimated at about 676 billion dollars. South African-American-American entrepreneur is best known as the company’s founder and director SpaceX and Adze, and he also got wealth through earlier projects such as PayPal (x.com). The path to the top of the list of the richest was marked by successes in the space program, electric cars and large investments.
Early life and education
Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa. His father was a South African electrical technician, and his mother was a Canadian nutritionist. Already in his childhood, he showed great interest in technology – at the age of 12, he created and sold his own computer game to a magazine. After high school in Canada, he enrolled at the University of Queen’s (Canada) and then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in the USA, where he graduated in physics and economics in 1997. In the late 90s, he gave up his doctoral studies at Stanford University to devote himself to entrepreneurship.
career and successes
Elon Musk co-founded an internet company in 1995 zip2, which was bought by Compaq in 1999 for 307 million dollars. He then launched the online banking company X.com (which became PayPal), and in 2002, eBay paid 1.5 billion dollars for the job. In 2002, he founded SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies) to reduce space launch costs, and in 2004 became one of the main investors in Tesla Motors, a company for electric cars, in which he has been the CEO since 2008. He also founded a neurotechnology company Neuralink (2016) and a construction-tunnelist company The Boring Company, and in 2022 bought a social network Twitter (renamed to x) ).
SpaceX successfully launched the first Falcon 1 missiles in 2006, and in 2010, the already bigger Falcon 9. In 2018, SpaceX launched Falcon Heavy, a powerful rocket for heavy loads. These missiles cost significantly less than the competition, and today SpaceX covers more than half of all orbital launches in the world. The successes of Musk’s technology greatly contributed to his wealth. For Tesla, however, the rapid expansion of the production of electric vehicles (model S, X, 3, etc.) and the growth of the value of the company’s shares was crucial.
Social networks
Elon Musk is very active on social networks, especially on Twitter (today platform X). His profile @elonmusk there is more than 85 million followers (2022). He regularly uses Twitter to make announcements of his projects, news and comments, which further increases his visibility. This activity often causes great reactions in markets and in the media, but it is always based on publicly available information.
public interest and searches
The question “who is the richest man” is a very common Google search, and as a result, the latest Forbes and Bloomberg’s articles about Elon Musk usually appear. The public is mostly interested in the size of his wealth, business projects (Tesla, SpaceX, X) and how his most famous successes were created. Reliable sources emphasize only confirmed facts: Musk’s nationality, years of birth, key companies and estimated assets. Considering the rapid changes in the market, details such as the correct amounts of net worth should be followed from relevant disclosures (Bloomberg, Forbes).
Frequent questions
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Who is the richest man in the world right now?
Currently, it is Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, with an estimated net worth of about $676 billion. -
What is Musk’s net worth?
According to the latest data, the 676 billion USD (Bloomberg, January 2026). Forbes previously cited about 393 billion (2025). -
How did Elon Musk acquire his fortune?
mostly from investments and ownership shares in their companies. In 2010, it launched and sold Internet projects (ZIP2, PayPal), and today its biggest capital lies in Tesla (Elektromobili) and SpaceX (space missiles). -
How old is Elon Musk?
Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971 in South Africa. Thus (in January 2026) 54 years old. -
Why is Elon Musk in public focus?
In addition to its huge assets, Musk attracts the attention of the public due to innovative projects (electric vehicles, space flights, artificial intelligence) and often controversial statements on social networks. People follow and appreciate his work, but sources usually only cite verified facts and current news.
Conclusion
Elon Musk is currently leading the list of the richest people thanks to the success of its technology companies Tesla, SpaceX, etc. Since market conditions and ownership shares are changing rapidly, we recommend following the latest Forbes or Bloomberg reports For updated information on his wealth. For the latest information on Musk’s achievements and assets, follow relevant news and financial portals.
Cover photo: Justin Pacheco, Public Domain, Via Wikimedia Commons