Elon Musk’s Wealth Jumps $30.7bn in 24 Hours to $894.9bn

Elon Musk’s fortune has surged by $30.7 billion in just 24 hours, pushing his estimated net worth to $894.9 billion as of August 18, 2026.

The latest figures from the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires ranking show that Musk’s wealth increased by 3.55%, keeping him firmly in the position of the world’s richest person at the time of publication.

The Tesla chief’s wealth is largely linked to his holdings in some of the world’s most valuable technology companies, particularly SpaceX and Tesla.

He is also associated with artificial intelligence company xAI, brain-computer interface firm Neuralink and tunnelling company The Boring Company.

Forbes estimates that Musk owns about 38% of SpaceX through shares and options, while his Tesla holding stands at nearly 11%, excluding unvested restricted shares from his 2018 performance award.

The latest increase comes after months of major swings in Musk’s fortune, largely driven by movements in SpaceX’s valuation.

On June 12, 2026, SpaceX reportedly priced its long-awaited initial public offering at $135 per share, placing the company’s valuation at about $1.8 trillion.

The development added an estimated $188 billion to Musk’s wealth in a single day.

Musk subsequently became the world’s first trillionaire, with his fortune climbing to roughly $1.4 trillion by June 16 as SpaceX’s market value approached $3 trillion.

However, the gains were short-lived. A sharp sell-off in SpaceX shares later wiped hundreds of billions of dollars from Musk’s fortune.

By June 23, reports indicated that Musk had lost about $350 billion in a week, with his wealth dropping to around $1.1 trillion after SpaceX shares fell 16% on June 22.

Despite the volatility, SpaceX remains the biggest contributor to Musk’s fortune, while Tesla and his other technology ventures continue to influence his overall wealth.

Meanwhile, Musk has disclosed that Tesla could complete the design phase of its next-generation AI6 chip by December 2026.

In a post on X, Musk said Tesla could “tape out” the chip by December if the company succeeds in speeding up development with artificial intelligence.

In semiconductor manufacturing, tape-out refers to the stage where a chip design is considered final and is sent for production.

The AI6 chip is expected to play a major role in Tesla’s future artificial intelligence systems, including autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots.

The project is part of Tesla’s wider strategy to develop its own AI computing infrastructure and reduce reliance on external chip suppliers.

Samsung Electronics is reportedly expected to manufacture the AI6 chips under a deal said to be worth about $16.5 billion.