Could Tesla and SpaceX help Elon Musk become the world's first trillionaire?

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has amassed a great deal of wealth over the past few years, and he’s only set to get richer. In fact, a new study predicts he may breach milestones yet untouched in just a few short years.

Musk could become a trillionaire as soon as the year 2024, according to a study conducted by Tipalti Approve and reported by Yahoo Finance. The study predicts Musk to be the first to reach the financial milestone, basing its prediction on an analysis of Musk’s average annual growth.

The study includes a list of entrepreneurs with the potential to reach a trillion dollars net worth, though none nearly as quickly as Musk. The list also included head of the energy conglomerate Adani Group, Gautam Adani, ByteDance Technology chairman and founder Zhang Yiming, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and former Amazon head Jeff Bezos.

“Since 2017, Musk’s fortune has shown an annual average increase of 129%, which could potentially see him enter the trillion-dollar club in just two short years, achieving a net worth of $1.38 trillion by 2024 at age 52,” the report explains.

It’s worth noting that wealth is complicated to predict since the standings regularly change.

The report accounts for this, noting that Bezos was the first to reach $100 billion after Gates reached the milestone in 1999 and was commonly expected to become the world’s first trillionaire just a few short years ago. Now, Bezos isn’t expected to reach the milestone until 2030.

Above: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is projected to potentially become the first-ever trillionaire according to a recent study (YouTube: Yahoo Finance)

“It was Bezos, not Musk, who a few years ago was expected to become the world’s first trillionaire, and who now isn’t expected to join the club until 2030, some six years after Musk.”

Despite the volatility of wealth, any analysis would be remiss not to mention Musk’s impressive economic achievements in recent history.

The Bloomberg Billionaire Index rates Musk’s total net worth at $275 billion at the time of writing, significantly outpacing fellow tech and stock giants such as Bezos ($194B), Gates ($134B), Warren Buffett ($130B) and others.

In addition, young investors are looking for socially- and ethically-responsible places to put their money. Many of them have made Tesla and Musk what they are today, amidst the backdrop of a climate crisis that the billionaire and his companies can’t solve alone.

It’s tough to say if Musk will really cross the trillion-dollar mark by 2024, but between his wealth from SpaceX contracts and Tesla's influence on auto industry trends moving society to an electric vehicle (and clean energy) future, it’s safe to say he’ll probably cross that line sometime.

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