Topline
President Donald Trump presented SpaceX chief Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and other tech moguls with the National Medal of Science on Thursday, rewarding Musk and Huang as they have supported the president’s largely hands-off artificial intelligence agenda.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (L) receives the National Medal of Science from U.S. President Donald Trump during the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit at the Institute of Peace on October 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Trump gave the awards to Musk, Huang, Alphabet co-founder Sergey Brin and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. CEO Lisa Su.
He also awarded Dell founder Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Trump called Musk a“modern-day Thomas Edison,” an “industrial titan, brilliant engineer and one of the greatest technology founders to ever live” during Thursday’s summit.
All are billionaires, with Musk, Dell, Brin and Huang comprising four of the top seven world’s wealthiest people.
Thursday marked the first time Trump awarded either of the medals during his two terms in office.
The awards are part of a Thursday summit focused on advancements in technology and follows up a meeting last month in which Trump and several tech leaders signed a voluntary “White House Accord on Super Intelligence” that calls for non-binding safety measures on AI development, including internal oversight teams and independent auditors.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reacts after being awarded the National Medal of Science during the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit at the Institute of Peace on October 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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(L-R) National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, CEO of Dell Technologies Michael Dell, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Co-founder of Google and former President of Alphabet Sergey Brin, CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella and President and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices Lisa Su listen to U.S. President Donald Trump speak as they attend the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit at the Institute of Peace on October 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Co-founder of Google and former President of Alphabet Sergey Brin, U.S. President Donald Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang point to guests in the cro the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit at the Institute of Peace on October 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (L) receives the National Medal of Science from U.S. President Donald Trump during the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit at the Institute of Peace on October 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Who Signed The Accord?
In addition to Musk and Huang, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, Anthropic head Dario Amodei, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI president Greg Brockman signed the document. The accord was signed after AI experts sounded the alarm on existential AI risks, though critics have blasted the document for trusting top AI companies to self-police and excluding public accountability.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Musk’s net worth at $997.4 billion as of Thursday, far ahead of Dell ($279.1 billion), Brin ($262.5 billion), Huang ($199.4 billion) and the other billionaires who received medals. Musk, Dell, Brin and Huang are four of the world’s seven wealthiest people.
Key Background
The National Science Foundation’s website says the National Medal of Science is the highest recognition the government can give to scientists and engineers. The medal has been awarded to figures such as cytogeneticist Barbara McClintock, who discovered “jumping genes,” and Andrew Viterbi, the co-founder of Qualcomm best known for creating a formula that became a building block of cellular networks and Wi-Fi. Nominations for the award are evaluated by a committee appointed by the president. Trump giving Musk the medal represents a stark contrast from their relationship about a year ago, when Musk blasted Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” had his government contracts threatened by the president and later accused Trump of being in the Epstein files.
Further Reading
The Musk Vs. Trump Feud Latest: Richest Man Trolls President Over ‘Epstein List’—Again (Forbes)
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