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Net Worth Comparison

David Shaw vs Elon Musk

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

David Shaw

David Shaw

CEO, Hedge funds
Net Worth
$8.823B
+0.00% today
Elon Musk
Wealthier

Elon Musk

CEO, Tesla, Inc.
Net Worth
$807.656B
+$798.8B more than David
+1.18% today

Wealth at a Glance

David Shaw$8.823B
Elon Musk$807.656B

Net worth gap: $798.8B — equivalent to 99% of Elon's total wealth.

Tale of the Tape

David Shaw
Elon Musk
$8.823B
Net Worth
$807.656B
#402
Global Rank
#1
74
Age
54
UNITED STATES
Country
UNITED STATES
Hedge funds
Source of Wealth
Tesla, SpaceX
Finance & Investments
Industry
Technology
University of California, San Diego (B.A.), Stanford University (MSc, PhD)
Education
University of Pennsylvania (BA, BS)

Career Highlights

David Shaw

  1. 1986
    Vice President for Technology
    Joined Morgan Stanley's automated proprietary trading group.
  2. 1988
    Founded D. E. Shaw & Co.
    Established a hedge fund that utilized proprietary algorithms for securities trading.
  3. 1996
    Recognized as 'King Quant'
    Fortune magazine referred to him as "King Quant" for his firm's role in high-speed quantitative trading.
  4. 2001
    Shift to Scientific Research
    Transitioned to full-time research in computational biochemistry.

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

YearDavidElonLeader
2022—$146B—
2023—$235.5B—
2024—$839.6B—
2025$8.8B$839BElon
2026$8.823B$807.656BElon

The Verdict: Elon Musk vs David Shaw

As of June 2026, Elon Musk leads this comparison with a net worth of $807.656B, placing at #1 in the global rankings. David Shaw follows at $8.823B — a gap of $798.8B.

The two leaders come from distinct industries — Finance & Investments for David Shaw 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.

David Shaw is 74 years old versus 54 for Elon Musk, a difference of 20 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

David Shaw
David Shaw
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