Did Elon Musk's Net Worth Really Just Hit $850 Billion? The Math Gap Between Forbes, CNW, Bloomberg… And Reality

Yesterday, Forbes published an article titled "Elon Musk Just Became The First Person Ever Worth $800 Billion After SpaceX Acquired xAI." And, as I type this article (1:15 PM PST on Wednesday, Forbes currently lists Elon's net worth at $852 billion.

Simultaneously, CelebrityNetWorth pegs Elon at $750 billion, while Bloomberg's billionaire index says $680 billion.

What's going on here? Did Elon's fortune really just top $850 billion? Allow me to explain the math gap separating Forbes and reality…

(BRITTA PEDERSEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The "Self-Marked" Merger

The catalyst for Forbes' stunning headline was the announced intended merger of SpaceX and xAI. On paper, it was a move to create a vertically integrated "innovation engine." In practice, it was a masterclass in valuation gymnastics.

Before the deal, SpaceX was valued at $800 billion and xAI at roughly $230 billion. Simple addition suggests a combined value of $1.03 trillion. However, Forbes chose to adopt an internal merger valuation of $1.25 trillion. Because Musk effectively acted as both the buyer and the seller in this transaction, that extra $220 billion in "synergy" didn't come from the open market; it came from a boardroom memo.

Bloomberg, so far, has chosen not to recognize this "imaginary" bump. Their analysis remains at the $1.03 trillion mark. They've even applied a 5% "liquidity discount," because you can't exactly offload $500 billion in private rocket stock on a whim.

This is where CelebrityNetWorth serves as the pragmatic middle ground. We are choosing to acknowledge the massive growth of the SpaceX empire without fully swallowing the "Musk Premium" hook, line, and sinker.

The Taxman's Shadow

The other massive rift in the math involves Musk's 2018 Tesla compensation package. In late December 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court handed Musk a massive victory by reinstating his 304 million stock options.

Since that ruling, Forbes has treated these options like a pile of gold bars, valuing them at their gross market price of about $124 billion. But a more conservative view recognizes that these options come with a catch: a historic tax bill. To actually turn those options into usable wealth, Musk would have to pay the strike price and hand over a massive percentage to the IRS. By failing to account for these massive tax liabilities, Forbes is essentially counting money that already belongs to the government.

The Verdict on the $850 Billion Man

So, is he actually worth $852 billion? The answer is: Kind of? Sort of? Maybe?

You could definitely argue for it if you believe the "Musk Premium" will be validated by a public market. But you could also easily argue against it. One thing is certain: Musk's wealth has accelerated at a terrifying pace—jumping nearly $350 billion since October 2025—largely due to his influence in the federal government and the anticipation of a SpaceX IPO. If that IPO hits this summer and the market accepts a $1.5 trillion valuation, Forbes' current estimates may be right on the money.

However, until those private shares are traded by the public and those Tesla options are exercised and taxed, that $852 billion figure remains more of a "choose your own adventure" story than a financial fact.

For now, the reality likely sits in that "conservative middle" around $750 billion—a number that is still large enough to make Elon Musk the richest person in the world by a margin of $400 billion and the richest human being of all time, even after taking inflation into account. For context, that is roughly 1.5 times the inflation-adjusted peak of John D. Rockefeller. Even by the most conservative math, we are witnessing a concentration of wealth that history has quite literally never seen before.