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Net Worth Comparison

William Ackman vs Elon Musk

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

William Ackman

William Ackman

CEO, Hedge funds
Net Worth
$8.948B
+0.35% today
Elon Musk
Wealthier

Elon Musk

CEO, Tesla, Inc.
Net Worth
$807.656B
+$798.7B more than William
+1.18% today

Wealth at a Glance

William Ackman$8.948B
Elon Musk$807.656B

Net worth gap: $798.7B — equivalent to 99% of Elon's total wealth.

Tale of the Tape

William Ackman
Elon Musk
$8.948B
Net Worth
$807.656B
#394
Global Rank
#1
59
Age
54
UNITED STATES
Country
UNITED STATES
Hedge funds
Source of Wealth
Tesla, SpaceX
Finance & Investments
Industry
Technology
Harvard University (BA, MBA)
Education
University of Pennsylvania (BA, BS)

Net Worth History

YearWilliamElonLeader
2022—$146B—
2023$4.3B$235.5BElon
2024$9.1B$839.6BElon
2025$9.1B$839BElon
2026$8.948B$807.656BElon

Career Highlights

William Ackman

  1. 1992
    Co-founded Gotham Partners
    Co-founded Gotham Partners Management Co., LLC, an investment advisory firm.
  2. 2004
    Founded Pershing Square Capital Management
    Founded Pershing Square Capital Management, an investment management company.
  3. 2014
    Pershing Square Holdings IPO
    Pershing Square Holdings went public on Euronext Amsterdam.
  4. 2020
    Profited from Shorting the Bond Market
    Profited approximately $2.6 billion by shorting the bond market during the COVID-19 downturn.

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.

The Verdict: Elon Musk vs William Ackman

As of May 2026, Elon Musk leads this comparison with a net worth of $807.656B, placing at #1 in the global rankings. William Ackman follows at $8.948B — a gap of $798.7B.

The two leaders come from distinct industries — Finance & Investments for William Ackman 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.

William Ackman is 59 years old versus 54 for Elon Musk, a difference of 5 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

William Ackman
William Ackman
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