Elon Musk Net Worth [Losing Billions In Style]

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Net Worth:	$258 billion
Profession/Career:	Entrepreneur, Businessman
YouTube Channel:	None
College:	University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Major/Degree:	BS in Physics and Economics
Full Name:	Elon Reeve Musk
Date of Birth (Age):	June 28, 1971
Place of Birth:	Pretoria, South Africa
Height:	6 ft 2 in

Frequently associated with

Tesla
SpaceX
The Boring Company
Twitter
Jeff Bezos
Martin Eberhard
Marc Tarpenning
Amber Heard

Table of Contents

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Net Worth of Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s net worth is estimated to be roughly $258 billion.

The majority of Elon Musk’s net worth lies in his company Tesla. He has roughly 155 million shares of Tesla stock, which is worth over $131 billion at the time of this writing. His net worth at its peak was around $340 billion when Tesla was at its strongest.

Tesla stock is an extremely volatile stock so the day-to-day value of his holdings, and hence net worth, changes constantly. Other top shareholders of Tesla stock include his brother Kimbal Musk, Capital World Investors, Susquehanna Securities, Jerome Guillen, and Zachary Kirkhorn.

Recently, he’s also acquired Twitter for $44 billion with the help of some outside investors, but its value has dropped since, so it’s not likely that Twitter is worth the full $44 billion Elon and his investors paid for it.

Elon paid around $25 billion of the $44 billion (around $15 billion of that through sales of Tesla shares), Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital together paid a bit over $7 billion, and the rest was covered by various other investors.

How much does Elon Musk earn in a year?

Elon Musk earned roughly $23 billion in 2021.

In fact, this amount is the highest any CEO has every received as a paycheck. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, comes in at second with a paycheck of roughly $770 million. Third is Jansen Huang,, CEO of NVIDIA, who earned roughly $651 million. The latter two paychecks don’t come anywhere close to the paycheck Elon has received as CEO of Tesla.

Unlike a lot of other billionaires, Elon Musk currently does not invest in real estate. At one point, he owned 7 homes, but he has since sold all of them for almost $130 million in total. He has vowed to “own no house” in response to critics who say he has way too much money. He now lives in a tiny, studio-sized, prefabricated box home made by the company Boxabl. The box home is worth about $50K, and he’s happy with it, stating, “It’s kinda awesome”.

Did Elon Musk grow up rich or poor?

Elon Musk grew up in a very wealthy household. Not to take anything away from Elon Musk’s massive achievements and success, but many billionaires like him, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates have come from positions of financial privilege.

Elon’s father Errol Musk was an electromechanical engineer who also owned a Zambian emerald mine and developed property in South Africa. Errol was able to retire in 1980 at the relatively young age of 37 to go travel the world. However, Errol and Elon had an estranged relationship, and there was clearly a lot of emotional abuse for Elon growing up.

Elon Musk’s Early Years

Elon Musk’s educational journey began in South Africa, where he attended various schools. From an early age, he showed a keen interest in computing and technology, teaching himself computer programming and delving into the world of computers. At the age of 17, Musk left South Africa to study at Queen’s University in Canada. However, he later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in the United States to pursue his studies further.

At the University of Pennsylvania, Musk pursued dual bachelor’s degrees in physics and economics. His time at university provided him with a solid foundation in scientific principles and business acumen, which would prove valuable in his future endeavors. Musk was known to immerse himself in his studies and to explore his entrepreneurial spirit even during his college years.

During his time in university, Musk developed an interest in the potential of the internet and its possibilities for business and innovation. This passion led him to co-found Zip2, a software company that focused on providing business directories and maps to newspapers. Zip2’s success led to partnerships with major media companies and eventually a lucrative acquisition by Compaq.

Musk’s educational background and his experiences in the business world laid the foundation for his future entrepreneurial ventures. His ability to blend scientific knowledge with business acumen has been a defining characteristic throughout his career. From PayPal to SpaceX to Tesla, Musk has consistently shown a deep understanding of technology and its potential to disrupt industries and shape the future.

While Musk’s success is often associated with his entrepreneurial endeavors, his educational background played a significant role in shaping his thinking, problem-solving abilities, and innovative approach to business. His passion for learning, coupled with his vision and drive, has propelled him to become one of the most influential figures in technology and entrepreneurship today.

Elon Musk and SpaceX

Elon Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly known as SpaceX, in 2002 with a profound belief in colonizing Mars to ensure humanity’s survival. Musk’s initial concept, “Mars Oasis,” aimed to send a small greenhouse to Mars to reignite public interest in space exploration.

However, the high costs of existing rockets led him to the idea of creating his own affordable rockets. Despite early challenges, including the first three Falcon 1 launches failing, the company’s fortunes turned with the successful fourth launch in 2008.

Since then, SpaceX has made significant strides in space transportation. The Falcon 9 rocket became instrumental in delivering satellites and cargo to the International Space Station, while the larger Falcon Heavy had its successful inaugural flight in 2018.

Currently, SpaceX is developing the Starship spacecraft, a fully reusable vehicle designed for missions to Mars and beyond. In a historic partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX began sending astronauts to the International Space Station using the Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2020, marking the first time a private company achieved such a feat.

Additionally, SpaceX is deploying Starlink, a satellite constellation aiming to provide global high-speed internet access.

SpaceX’s valuation reached $127 billion, reflecting its series of successes and promising future projects. Musk’s overarching vision for SpaceX remains the colonization of Mars, with the development of Starship playing a pivotal role in realizing this ambition.

Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

In October 2022, Elon Musk finalized the purchase of Twitter for $44 billion. After months of legal battles and even almost changing his mind, Elon has finally completed the acquisition.

After taking over, Elon Musk went straight to work and fired many high-level executives and replaced them with new personnel.

Elon Musk has done many changes to the company’s policies, including taking away the banning of its users due to the content that they post. Opening up the opportunity for people to rejoin the platform such as former President Donald Trump and Andrew Tate.