Elon Musk got rich through a series of successful entrepreneurial ventures and strategic investments, particularly in technology and space exploration. His early wealth came from co-founding Zip2, an online city guide software company, which was sold to Compaq in 1999 for $307 million, earning Musk about $22 million. He then co-founded X.com, an online payment company that later became PayPal, which was acquired by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion, netting Musk approximately $175 million from the sale. Musk's wealth significantly increased due to his involvement with Tesla and SpaceX. He joined Tesla Motors (now Tesla Inc.) in 2004 as an investor and later CEO, helping transform it into the leading electric vehicle manufacturer. Tesla's stock price soared, especially after its inclusion in the S&P 500 in 2020, which dramatically increased Musk's net worth. At the same time, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, a company focused on space exploration that secured major government contracts and developed reusable rocket technology, further adding to his wealth. Additionally, Musk has invested in other ventures like Neuralink, The Boring Company, and artificial intelligence initiatives, which have contributed to his fortune and established his reputation as a pioneering entrepreneur. Tesla and SpaceX combined have a valuation close to a trillion dollars, which represents the bulk of Musk's estimated net worth of over $240 billion. His wealth saw a rapid rise in recent years, especially from 2020 onward, driven mainly by Tesla's stock market performance and SpaceX's successes.
