Texas / New York — Tesla CEO Elon Musk could soon make corporate history as the first individual in human history to reach a net worth of US $1 trillion, pending a shareholder vote this week on a record-breaking stock-based compensation package.
Shareholders are set to vote Thursday in Texas on a 10-year payout plan that could nearly double Musk’s 13 per cent stake in Tesla. If approved, it would cement his position not only as the world’s richest man but also as the first-ever trillion-dollar individual.
The proposed deal has drawn sharp criticism from wealth equality campaigners, who argue that such enormous payouts highlight the deepening divide between the global rich and poor. For comparison, the United Nations World Food Programme estimated in 2021 that ending world hunger by 2030 would cost US $40 billion annually—less than a tenth of Musk’s potential total fortune.
According to Forbes, Musk’s current net worth already exceeds US $500 billion, while the world’s next ten richest individuals together hold nearly US $1.7 trillion. Analysts say the Tesla payout sets a worrying precedent for corporate governance and executive compensation, potentially normalizing extreme concentration of wealth.
Tesla has defended the plan as a “performance-driven, long-term incentive”, linking Musk’s compensation to achieving ambitious corporate milestones, including a market capitalization of US $8.5 trillion and an EBITDA target of US $400 billion over the next decade.
Critics, however, say Musk’s growing influence over Tesla—and his other ventures, including X (formerly Twitter) and SpaceX—raises governance concerns. Musk has hinted that if his control isn’t expanded, he may step back from day-to-day operations, emphasizing that his leadership is vital to Tesla’s AI and robotics ambitions, particularly through the Optimus humanoid robot project.
The debate extends beyond Tesla’s boardroom. Governments and economists warn of accelerating global wealth inequality, as billionaire fortunes grow faster than poverty reduction. Oxfam reports that billionaire wealth rose by US $2 trillion in 2024, with four new billionaires created each week, while nearly 9 per cent of the world’s population remains in poverty.
Prominent U.S. lawmakers, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have renewed calls for a “billionaire tax” or wealth caps to curb such extreme accumulation. Similar policies exist in Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Bolivia, and Argentina, where net wealth taxes are used to promote redistribution.
As Tesla faces a divided shareholder base—with large investors like Norway’s sovereign wealth fund opposing the package—the outcome of Thursday’s vote could shape not only the company’s future, but also global discussions on executive power, economic inequality, and corporate ethics in the age of trillionaires.