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Net Worth Comparison

Carl Icahn vs Elon Musk

Real-time net worth, career, and company comparison — updated May 2026.

Carl Icahn

Carl Icahn

CEO, Icahn Enterprises
Net Worth
$4.212B
+1.07% today
Elon Musk
Wealthier

Elon Musk

CEO, Tesla, Inc.
Net Worth
$807.656B
+$803.4B more than Carl
+1.18% today

Wealth at a Glance

Carl Icahn$4.212B
Elon Musk$807.656B

Net worth gap: $803.4B — equivalent to 99% of Elon's total wealth.

Tale of the Tape

Carl Icahn
Elon Musk
$4.212B
Net Worth
$807.656B
#1003
Global Rank
#1
90
Age
54
UNITED STATES
Country
UNITED STATES
Investments
Source of Wealth
Tesla, SpaceX
finance-investments
Industry
Technology
Princeton University (B.A. in Philosophy)
Education
University of Pennsylvania (BA, BS)

Career Highlights

Carl Icahn

  1. 1961
    Began Career on Wall Street
    Started as a stockbroker for Dreyfus Corporation.
  2. 1968
    Founded Icahn & Co.
    Formed his own securities firm focused on arbitrage and options trading.
  3. 1978
    First Major Takeover
    Took a controlling stake in Tappan, leading to its sale and a profit.
  4. 1985
    TWA Takeover
    Engineered a hostile takeover of Trans World Airlines (TWA).
  5. 1987
    Founded Icahn Enterprises
    Established a diversified holding company.

Elon Musk

  1. 1995
    Co-founded Zip2
    Co-founded Zip2, an online city guide for newspapers.
  2. 1999
    Co-founded X.com
    Co-founded X.com, which later became PayPal.
  3. 2002
    Founded SpaceX
    Founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX).
  4. 2004
    Became Chairman of Tesla
    Led the first funding round for Tesla and became its Chairman.
  5. 2008
    Became CEO of Tesla
    Became CEO of Tesla Motors.

Net Worth History

YearCarlElonLeader
2022—$146B—
2023$7B$235.5BElon
2024$4.5B$839.6BElon
2025$4.4B$839BElon
2026$4.212B$807.656BElon

The Verdict: Elon Musk vs Carl Icahn

As of May 2026, Elon Musk leads this comparison with a net worth of $807.656B, placing at #1 in the global rankings. Carl Icahn follows at $4.212B — a gap of $803.4B.

The two leaders come from distinct industries — finance-investments for Carl Icahn and Technology for Elon Musk. Comparing them is therefore a comparison of different underlying asset types, growth rates, and risk profiles rather than a simple head-to-head within the same market.

Carl Icahn is 90 years old versus 54 for Elon Musk, a difference of 36 years. Age context matters in wealth comparisons: a younger billionaire at the same net worth has had less time to accumulate — and in many cases represents a higher compound annual growth rate on their wealth.

Net worth figures are estimates calculated from public shareholding disclosures, stock price data, and reported asset values. See our full methodology.

Explore Full Profiles

Carl Icahn
Carl Icahn
Full profile → net worth, bio, career history
Elon Musk
Elon Musk
Full profile → net worth, bio, career history

Net worth estimates updated daily from public financial disclosures. Methodology · Report an error