No more Trump BFF, Elon Musk nearly recovers wealth lost earlier this year

Elon Musk's net worth has rebounded to around $430 billion after a rocky year of political controversies, Tesla stock swings, and a public falling-out with US President Donald Trump

After a rocky year marked by political controversies, investor backlash, and one of the steepest wealth drops in history, Elon Musk has nearly clawed his way back to the fortune he started 2025 with.

 

As of Monday’s market close, Musk’s net worth stood at $429 billion, according to Bloomberg, and $471.1 billion, according to Forbes. That puts him almost level with, or in some cases surpassing, his January 1 fortune of $432 billion.

 

Trump Musk friendship: BFF to breakup

Musk’s turbulent year began with his surprising role in US President Donald Trump’s second administration. He was tapped as a 'special government employee' working in the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new office created to slash bureaucracy.

 

 

At first, his proximity to Trump boosted investor confidence. Tesla’s market value soared to $1.5 trillion in December 2024, and Musk’s net worth neared $500 billion.

 

But this didn’t last long. Investors began to worry that Musk was spending too much time on politics and not enough on Tesla, just as the automaker faced stiff competition from Chinese rivals. His vocal support of Trump and far-right candidates also drew heavy criticism.

 

Elon Musk loses billions in months

By March 2025, Musk’s wealth had plunged by $126 billion. On March 10 alone, he lost $29 billion, the worst single-day loss for Tesla stock since 2020.

 

The decline continued into April, when Tesla shares were down 45 per cent for the year and Musk’s net worth hit a low of $290 billion. 

Dodging DOGE

Things seemed to turn around in May, when Musk announced he would step back from his DOGE role. Investors welcomed the move, and by late May, his fortune had rebounded to $390 billion.

 

But just as things were stabilising, Musk had a very public falling-out with Trump in June. The two exchanged insults on their respective social media platforms, triggering a sharp sell-off in Tesla stock. Musk’s net worth tumbled by $34 billion in a single day, marking the second-largest loss in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

 

Tesla’s turnaround

The upswing came in September, when Tesla shares jumped nearly 18 percent in a single week, following news of a proposed $1 trillion pay package for Musk and his own $1 billion purchase of Tesla stock, disclosed in an Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

 

The surge was enough to push Musk’s wealth back into recovery territory and return him to the top of the world’s richest rankings.

 

However, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, 81, briefly overtook him on September 10 after his fortune jumped by $89 billion, following quarterly results that surpassed analysts’ expectations. That brought Ellison’s net worth to $383.2 billion, the largest one-day increase ever recorded, putting him ahead of Musk for the day.

 

On the trillion-dollar road

Elon Musk, 54, owns seven companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, X (formerly Twitter), and ventures like Neuralink and The Boring Company.

 

Musk first rose to the top of the world’s richest list in 2021 before losing the title to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault. He regained it last year and has managed to hold on despite major blows to his net worth this year.

 

If Tesla shareholders approve the proposed compensation package, Musk could be on track to achieve something no one has done before: become the world’s first trillionaire.