J. Joe Ricketts & family vs Elon Musk
Real-time net worth, career, and company comparison — updated June 2026.
Wealth at a Glance
Net worth gap: $799.4B — equivalent to 99% of Elon's total wealth.
Tale of the Tape
Career Highlights
J. Joe Ricketts & family
- 1975Co-founded First Omaha SecuritiesCo-founded First Omaha Securities, which later became TD Ameritrade.
- 1982Became CEO of Ameritrade Holding Corp.Took on the role of CEO at Ameritrade Holding Corp., which owns TD Ameritrade.
- 2009Acquired Chicago CubsThe Ricketts family acquired a 95% controlling interest in the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field.
- 2011Retired from TD Ameritrade boardStepped down from the board to focus on other business ventures.
Elon Musk
- 1995Co-founded Zip2Co-founded Zip2, an online city guide for newspapers.
- 1999Co-founded X.comCo-founded X.com, which later became PayPal.
- 2002Founded SpaceXFounded Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX).
- 2004Became Chairman of TeslaLed the first funding round for Tesla and became its Chairman.
- 2008Became CEO of TeslaBecame CEO of Tesla Motors.
Net Worth History
| Year | J. | Elon | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2.7B | — | — |
| 2022 | — | $146B | — |
| 2023 | — | $235.5B | — |
| 2024 | $4.1B | $839.6B | Elon |
| 2025 | $8.4B | $839B | Elon |
| 2026 | $8.217B | $807.656B | Elon |
The Verdict: Elon Musk vs J. Joe Ricketts & family
As of June 2026, Elon Musk leads this comparison with a net worth of $807.656B, placing at #1 in the global rankings. J. Joe Ricketts & family follows at $8.217B — a gap of $799.4B.
The two leaders come from distinct industries — finance-investments for J. Joe Ricketts & family 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.
J. Joe Ricketts & family is 84 years old versus 54 for Elon Musk, a difference of 30 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.
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Net worth estimates updated daily from public financial disclosures. Methodology · Report an error