Elon Musk cofounded seven companies, including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI.

He owns about 12% of Tesla excluding options, but has pledged more than half his shares as collateral for personal loans of up to $3.5 billion.

In early 2024, a Delaware judge voided Musk's 2018 deal to receive options equaling an additional 9% of Tesla. Forbes has discounted the options by 50% pending Musk's appeal.