As of this month, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla TSLA and SpaceX, is still the world's richest person, with a net worth of around $393.2 billion, according to Forbes. While that's an enormous fortune, some experts don't believe Musk will be the first to reach trillionaire status.
"The world's first trillionaires are going to come from somebody who masters AI and all its derivatives and applies it in ways we never thought of," Mark Cuban said at SXSW back in 2017.
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The Role of AI In Creating The First Trillionaire
Fast forward to today, and Cuban's prediction is looking more accurate than ever. AI is no longer a futuristic concept—it's part of everyday life, changing the way industries operate.
The AI sector is valued at $214.6 billion and is expected to soar to $1,339.1 billion by 2030, growing at a 35.7% annual rate, according to MarketsAndMarket.com. Nearly half (49%) of businesses already use AI in some form, and that number is only going to increase, PWC said recently.
The potential for AI to create extreme wealth is becoming clearer. Goldman Sachs has predicted reports that AI could increase the global economy's GDP by 7%—or nearly $7 trillion—over the next decade. Given these numbers, Cuban's argument that AI mastery could create the first trillionaire makes a lot of sense.
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Musk, for his part, is heavily invested in AI through Tesla's Full Self-Driving software, Neuralink, and xAI. But Cuban doesn't believe Musk—or even Amazon's AMZN Jeff Bezos—will be the first to hit a trillion dollars. Instead, he thinks it will be someone who approaches AI from a completely different angle.
"It could be someone who studied philosophy to better understand and solve complicated problems within human nature," Cuban suggested.
Musk's road to trillionaire status also isn't as straightforward as it might seem. His fortune is tied closely to Tesla's stock, which has seen major swings, dropping 27% since its December peak. Bloomberg has reported that this volatility makes it difficult for Musk to hold onto his top spot, let alone climb to $1 trillion.
Meanwhile, AI is accelerating at a breakneck pace. In 2024, venture capitalists poured over $50 billion into AI startups, CB Insights said last month.
Industry giants like Google GOOGL, Microsoft MSFT, and OpenAI are leading the charge, making AI one of the most competitive and fast-moving sectors. According to McKinsey, AI-driven automation could replace up to 30% of today's job functions by 2030, shifting how industries operate and creating entirely new markets.
Cuban's advice? Keep learning. He believes that staying ahead of AI developments is the best way to remain competitive in the future job market.
"Artificial Intelligence, deep learning, machine learning—whatever you’re doing, if you don’t understand it—learn it. Because otherwise, you’re going to be a dinosaur within three years," he said in an interview at the Upfront Summit on Feb. 8.
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