Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Wednesday, May 28th. Today on Forbes, Elon Musk is

$170 billion richer since endorsing Trump. Last week, during a virtual interview with the Qatar

Economic Forum, Elon Musk said that he plans to scale back his political giving. He said, quote,

I'm going to do a lot less in the future. I think I've done enough. Musk was the largest

individual donor in the 2024 election cycle, shelling out $290 million in support of Donald

Trump. In the interview, he added, quote, if I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently

see a reason. And no wonder, in just four months' time, the Trump administration has already

given Musk plenty of return on his investment. On the regulatory front, his businesses

face less scrutiny, as some

government investigations into them, have been closed, stalled, or thrown into disarray,

thanks in part to Musk's own efforts with Doge to defund and gut multiple federal agencies.

His companies, particularly SpaceX, are positioned to receive billions of dollars in fresh government

contracts. On the global stage, Musk is striking deals and gaining approval to operate in foreign

jurisdictions, often with the tacit or explicit support of the Trump administration.

Then there are the personal benefits. Musk is far richer now than he was before

endorsing Trump. His net worth stands at $419 billion as of last Friday, approximately $170 billion

more than what it was on July 15, 24, just two days after Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania,

after which Musk endorsed him.

Tesla's stock price has fallen by 20% since Trump's return to the White House in late January,

but remains 35% higher than in mid-July 2024.

SpaceX is now valued at $350 billion, nearly double what it was around the time of Musk's endorsement.

And his third largest company, XAI Holdings, which now includes his social media platform

...