Elon Musk has ended the 2023 year $100 billion richer than at the start of the year, to bring his net worth back to $235 billion, per Bloomberg.
Musk's financial standing has seen fluctuations, reaching its pinnacle at $340 billion in 2021. Despite experiencing a loss of $182 billion in net wealth in 2022, he rebounded by accumulating $97 billion throughout 2023, restoring his net worth to $235 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Despite X's reported devaluation to $19 billion, approximately half of Musk's acquisition cost in October 2022, he maintains his position as the world's wealthiest individual.
The unconventional financing approach for the acquisition, involving loans secured against his Tesla stock, left industry experts perplexed. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a Tesla supporter, likened the move to "giving away caviar to buy a hot dog on the street in New York City."
This financing strategy burdened X with approximately $13 billion in debt, leading to an annual interest payment of $1.5 billion.
The acquisition of X has provided unprecedented transparency into Musk's decision-making process, revealing a somewhat chaotic approach as he endeavors to transform X into an "everything app."
Musk's wealth is primarily derived from his stockholdings, where the value increases with the rise in share prices. The gains in share prices have overshadowed the drama surrounding X thus far.
Furthermore, Musk's space exploration company, SpaceX, is now reportedly valued at $175 billion, surpassing the valuations of Disney and Comcast. Tesla has also witnessed a share price surge of over 100% year-to-date.
