Musk hits $500B net worth as exec churn and $1T Tesla pay plan loom.

Elon Musk’s personal fortune reached an unprecedented $500 billion this week as Tesla shares climbed and valuations for his other ventures rose, a milestone that coincides with a high level of turnover among senior executives across his business interests and a proposed multibillion dollar compensation package from Tesla’s board. The net worth figure was recorded Wednesday by a widely followed billionaires index, reflecting gains in Tesla stock this year and renewed investor optimism about the company’s shift toward artificial intelligence and robotics.

Tesla shares have risen more than 14 percent year to date, with a recent rally adding several billion dollars to Musk’s wealth. Company filings show Musk still holds a double digit stake in Tesla. The board last month proposed a longterm stock option plan that could award him up to $1 trillion if Tesla grows from its current market value to $8.5 trillion over the next decade. Robyn Denholm, chair of Tesla’s board, said the board believes Musk is the right leader for the company’s next phase and that the scale of the package is intended to align incentives with ambitious growth targets.

At the same time, Musk’s corporate network...