Elon Musk becomes first person to reach a net worth of more than $500bn

Oracle founder Larry Ellison ranks second on the Forbes rich list

Now, Elon Musk has become the first person ever to reach a net worth of more than $500bn (£371bn), per Sky News.

It follows a recent recovery in Tesla stock and soaring valuations in Musk's other startups this year, according to the Forbes billionaires index.

It was only last month that Robyn Denholm, Tesla's board chair, said Musk was once again "front and centre" at the company after spending several months at the White House.

Musk owns over 12.4% stake in Tesla as of 15 September.

The company's shares have gained more than 14% year to date and closed 3.3% higher yesterday, which ultimately boosted the tech billionaire's net worth by over $6bn (£4.4bn).

Musk has bought around $1bn (£740m) worth of shares, showcasing a strong confidence in Tesla's future as it shifts its focus from being solely an automaker to becoming a leader in AI and robots, per Sky News.

Even though Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI and his rocket company SpaceX have both seen their valuations increase this year, the declining vehicle sales and ongoing pressure on profit margins have caused Tesla to be among the weakest performers among the top tech companies.

According to Pitchbook data, xAI was valued at $75bn (£55bn) as of July.

Bloomberg News reported in July that SpaceX was going to raise funds and sell insider shares in a deal valuing the company at approximately $400bn (£296bn).

As of Wednesday (October 1), Oracle founder Larry Ellison ranks second on the Forbes rich list, with a net worth of approximately $350.7bn (£260bn).