Elon Musk is unfathomably rich. Here’s where his money is stashed. (2024)

Elon Musk, the billionaire who leads electric automaker Tesla, has a tenuous hold on the title “world’s richest person.”

He grabbed the crown in 2021, ousting Amazon founder (and Washington Post owner) Jeff Bezos. But Musk’s top position could be in peril after a Delaware court ruled this week that his $56 billion compensation package at Tesla was unfair, ordering him to return significant stock options he has received over the past five years. While the options return would probably knock him out of the top spot, Musk would still be a billionaire many times over.

Elon Musk is unfathomably rich. Here’s where his money is stashed. (2024)

FAQs

Why did Elon Musk lose all his money? ›

Elon Musk's wealth has crashed by over $175 billion from its peak as Tesla's problems pile up. Tesla shares have tumbled 66% from their peak as investors gear up for a growth slowdown. The stock drop has fueled an estimated $176 billion decline in Elon Musk's net worth.

Where did Elon Musk get his money originally? ›

Musk, who was born in South Africa, moved to Canada and dropped out of a Ph. D. at Stanford, became a millionaire before he hit 30. Musk started Zip2, a website that provided city travel guides to newspapers, with his brother Kimbal Musk, and sold it to Compaq for more than $300 million in 1999.

Where does Elon Musk keep his money? ›

What makes up Musk's net worth. Musk lacks significant tranches of cash; his money is largely tied up in ownership stakes of his companies. To buy Twitter in 2022, he leveraged his large share in Tesla and solicited investors, rather than relying on liquid sums.

Why is Elon Musk getting poorer? ›

The decline in Musk's wealth is due to Tesla's declining share price, which is down by 29 per cent this year so far and is down 50 per cent from its 2021 peak. A majority of Musk's wealth comes from his 21 per cent stake in Tesla.

Who has lost the most money ever? ›

Elon Musk

Why is Tesla losing so much money? ›

Tesla shares plunged 29% in the first quarter, the worst period for the stock since the end of 2022 and the third-steepest quarterly drop on record. Investors are concerned about auto sales as the company faces increased competition from China and disruptions in Europe.

What is Elon Musk's IQ? ›

As mentioned earlier, Elon Musk's IQ score is believed to be between 155 and 160. Above-average IQ scores within this range are only reserved for the "Highly Gifted" IQ classification.

Who is the richest man on Earth? ›

2022
No.NameNet worth (USD)
1Elon Musk$219 billion
2Jeff Bezos$177 billion
3Bernard Arnault & family$158 billion
4Bill Gates$129 billion
6 more rows

How did Elon Musk get all the money? ›

Sources of wealth

Around 75% of Musk's wealth was derived from Tesla stock in November 2020, a proportion that fell to about 37% as of December 2022, after selling nearly $40 billion in company shares since late 2021.

Does Elon own PayPal? ›

In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk—PayPal's largest shareholder with 11.72% of shares—received $175.8 million.

How does Jeff Bezos keep his money? ›

He remains the executive chair of the company. He holds traditional investments, such as real estate and shares in other companies. Bezos has funded several education projects through the Bezos Family Foundation.

Who has the most money in the world? ›

Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, is the richest person and the richest man in the world with a net worth of $215 billion. After Arnault is Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Other billionaires with some of the largest net worths include Tesla's Musk, Microsoft's Bill Gates, and Oracle's Larry Ellison.

Who are the six trillionaires? ›

These are the only 6 trillionaires who lived on earth from history who reached the pinnacle of wealth.
  • Genghis Khan. 1206–1227. King of Mongol Empire. ...
  • Zhao Xu. 1048–1085. ...
  • Akbar, The Great. 1542–1605. ...
  • Amenhotep III. 1388–1351 BC. ...
  • Augustus Caesar. 63 BC-14 AD. ...
  • King Solomon. 970–931 BCE. ...
  • Mansa Mousa. 1280–1337.
Jun 30, 2021

What did Elon Musk do to lose so much money? ›

Tesla shares slipped on Tuesday after the electric vehicle maker reported disappointing first-quarter delivery numbers. The stock's 5% drop has shaved billions of dollars off the value of CEO Elon Musk's stake.

Why do the rich keep getting richer? ›

Wealthy people can grow more wealth by holding assets over time and taking advantage of tax benefits. They can also afford to put their money into risky investments. Even if you're not wealthy, you can still try adopting some of these tricks for your own benefit.

Why is Elon Musk no longer the richest? ›

Bernard Arnault, CEO of French luxury giant LVMH, beat Elon Musk as the world's richest person with a net worth of $207.8 billion, driven by a $23.6 billion surge. Tesla, Musk's electric car company, saw its stock plummet 13 per cent on Thursday, eroding over $18 billion from his net worth.

Who will be the first trillionaire? ›

Elon Musk: $226.6 billion

In addition to being at the helm of Tesla, Musk is CEO of rocket ship company SpaceX. In 2022, he also purchased Twitter, which is now called X, for $44 billion.

Why did Tesla stock crash? ›

Bringing full self-driving to China would be a particularly big win for Tesla as the country accounted for 22.5% of all 2023 revenues for the automaker, with pessimism about Tesla's dwindling market share in China and slumping demand for electric vehicles broadly in China acting as two of the most important factors ...

How much does Musk owe? ›

It explores how debt works and… The “world's richest man,” Elon Musk, purchased Twitter (since renamed X) for $44 billion in 2022. It's estimated he holds $13 billion of that amount as debt from bank and other loans, a sum the average working class person would obviously face severe repercussions for.

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