How Elon Musk became world's richest man with Rs 33 lakh crore business empire

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is a figure who draws intense opinions. Whether you love him or hate him, it's hard to ignore him, especially with his immense wealth and influential presence. With a net worth crossing USD 400 billion (approximately Rs 33 lakh crore), Musk continues to make headlines, particularly due to his connection with high-profile figures like former President Donald Trump.

So, how did Musk manage to build such an incredible fortune? His rise to wealth began in the 1990s during the dotcom boom. He was quick to take advantage of the booming tech industry, founding several successful companies. His first big payout came in 1999, when he and his brother Kimbal sold their online business directory, Zip2, for USD 307 million (about Rs 25 billion). Musk’s cut of the sale was USD 22 million (around Rs 1,800 crore). According to Time magazine, Musk used part of his earnings to buy a Pound 1 million (roughly Rs 10 crore) McLaren F1 supercar. However, he crashed it a year later, and it wasn’t insured.

Musk's next big achievement was founding PayPal, an online payment platform that would become one of the most widely used services worldwide. In 2002, eBay acquired PayPal for USD 1.5 billion (around Rs 125 billion), and Musk walked away with USD 175 million (approximately Rs 14 billion). This money was then reinvested into two of his most famous ventures: Tesla, the electric car company, and SpaceX, the private space travel company. Tesla has become a leader in the electric vehicle market, now dominating nearly two-thirds of the U.S. electric car sector, while SpaceX has revolutionized private space exploration.

The bulk of Musk's wealth comes from his significant stake in Tesla, which has seen its stock price increase by an astounding 3,000% over the last decade. Musk holds 17% of Tesla’s shares, contributing to much of his fortune. He has also invested in the AI sector and makes around USD 3.3 billion (Rs 273 billion) annually from his tunnel construction company, the Boring Company.

However, not every venture Musk has touched has turned to gold. In 2022, he purchased Twitter for USD 44 billion (around Rs 3.6 lakh crore) and later rebranded it as X. However, changes made under his leadership, such as a rise in hate speech on the platform, led to a decrease in its value, which is now estimated to be just USD 9.4 billion (roughly Rs 780 billion).

Despite this, Musk remains incredibly wealthy, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—whose net worth is around USD 256 billion (Rs 21 lakh crore)—ranking as the second richest man in the world, a staggering USD 150 billion (Rs 12.5 lakh crore) behind Musk.