Elon Musk, co-founder of SpaceX and Tesla, has topped Forbes’ list of America’s wealthiest people for the third consecutive year. According to the 2024 Forbes 400, Musk’s net worth is estimated at $244 billion, $7 billion lower than last year.
At 53, Musk is the cofounder of seven companies, including SpaceX, xAI, and The Boring Company, and serves as CEO of Tesla, headquartered in Austin. In 2022, Musk made headlines by acquiring Twitter in a $44 billion deal. Forbes now estimates that X, as the platform is renamed, has seen its value drop nearly 70% as of August 2024.
Recent court filings reveal that Musk shifted plans to move X’s headquarters from San Francisco to Bastrop, Texas, after previously planning to relocate to Austin.
In Austin, Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, ranks second among the city’s richest, with a net worth of $101 billion. He placed 12th on Forbes’ 2024 list, an 11-spot rise from 2023.
The Forbes 400, released on October 1, is a comprehensive ranking of America’s wealthiest individuals, collectively worth $5.4 trillion, a $1 trillion increase from 2023.