The World's Richest People- The Rise of Elon Musk (1999-2024)

Elon Musk’s journey from a young tech entrepreneur to becoming the richest person on the planet is nothing short of extraordinary. Born in South Africa in 1971, Musk moved to the United States to chase his dreams of innovation. In 1999, he co-founded X.com, an online payments company that later became PayPal, laying the foundation for his future success.

After selling PayPal to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion, Musk didn’t slow down. He poured his fortune into bold ventures, founding SpaceX in 2002 with the vision of making life multiplanetary and joining Tesla in 2004, revolutionizing the electric vehicle industry.

Despite facing countless challenges—including near bankruptcy at both Tesla and SpaceX—Musk persevered, turning his companies into global powerhouses. SpaceX disrupted space exploration with reusable rockets, while Tesla led the charge toward a sustainable energy future.

By 2021, Musk surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person, with a fortune fueled by Tesla's soaring stock prices and groundbreaking advancements at SpaceX. In 2022, he took over Twitter (now X), reshaping the platform amidst controversy and innovation.

As of 2024, Elon Musk continues to dominate headlines and redefine industries, with ventures ranging from Neuralink and The Boring Company to futuristic projects like Mars colonization and AI integration. His relentless ambition and visionary ideas have made him a defining figure of the 21st century.

This is the story of how Elon Musk rose to become one of the wealthiest—and most influential—people in history.