Elon Musk becomes the first person in history to reach a personal wealth of $500 billion.

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According to the Forbes Rich List, as of 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk's net worth reached $501 billion, making him the world's first individual with a personal net worth approaching $500 billion. This milestone is mainly due to the rebound in the electric car company's stock price and the surge in valuations of several startups under Musk's name this year.

The Forbes list also shows that Oracle founder Larry Ellison ranks second with a net worth of about $350.7 billion.

Musk's wealth is closely tied to Tesla. As of September 15, he owned more than 12.4% of Tesla's shares. So far this year, Tesla's stock price has risen by more than 14%. On Wednesday, the stock closed up 3.3%, adding more than $6 billion to Musk's fortune.

After volatility earlier this year and with market confidence recovering, Musk refocused his attention on the company, and Tesla's stock price has stabilized. Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm said last month that after spending several months on White House affairs, Musk has "returned to center stage at the company."

Previously, Musk disclosed spending about $1 billion to purchase Tesla stock, signaling strong confidence in the company's future. Tesla is accelerating its transformation from a car manufacturer to an artificial intelligence and robotics giant.

Nonetheless, declining car sales and ongoing profit pressures continue to drag down the stock price, making it the worst performer among the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks.

Last month, Tesla's board proposed a massive $1 trillion compensation package, setting ambitious financial and operational targets in response to Musk's demand to increase his ownership stake.

Meanwhile, Musk's AI company xAI and aerospace company SpaceX have also seen soaring valuations this year. According to PitchBook data, as of July, xAI was valued at $75 billion; CNBC reported in September that the company was seeking a $200 billion valuation after fundraising, but Musk at the time denied that fundraising was underway. Bloomberg reported in July that SpaceX was discussing a financing and internal share transfer deal that would value the company at about $400 billion.

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