Elon Musk gained notoriety by developing some of the most forward-thinking tech firms in the world today, such as the manufacturer of electric vehicles Tesla and the space exploration firm SpaceX.

According to Bloomberg, Musk is the richest person in the world as of right now, in large part because of his roughly 13 percent ownership share in Tesla, which was valued at $107 billion as of July 2023.

But Musk’s business strategies are unusual and occasionally contentious. He promised to pay $44 billion to acquire the social media giant Twitter in 2022, but afterwards tried to pull out of the agreement. Before a Delaware trial was scheduled to start, he ultimately consented to finalize the contract at its original terms.

What more about Musk should you be aware of? Continue reading to learn about his early career and current biggest investments.

Elon Musk’s net worth

Elon Musk’s investments in and creation of businesses have increased his net worth. He was able to reinvest the money from the sale of PayPal at the beginning of his career into businesses that were incredibly successful, turning the earnings into much larger sums.

According to Bloomberg, his current projected net worth of $232 billion has significantly increased since the beginning of 2020, when it was at $27.6 billion. Since then, the value of Tesla’s stock has increased tenfold, and Musk’s net worth has grown along with it, making him the richest man in the world. At the start of 2020, he would be number 53 on the current list of billionaires with a net worth of $27.6 billion.

Elon Musk and cryptocurrency

Through his tweets, Musk has also been a consistent commenter and proponent of cryptocurrencies. Tesla said in February 2021 that it had spent $1.5 billion on Bitcoin and intended to accept it as payment for its goods and services.

A few months later, Musk made an appearance on Saturday Night Live and called the digital currency Dogecoin a “hustle.” Following Musk’s remarks, the price of the coin dropped by 30% and has since continued to decline.

Just a few months after it began, Tesla ceased accepting Bitcoin as payment owing to environmental concerns. In July 2021, Musk stated that Tesla would “most likely” resume accepting Bitcoin once it became more environmentally friendly.Tesla touted the long-term potential of Bitcoin a year earlier but revealed in July 2022 that it had converted around 75% of its holdings into fiat money.