Elon Musk just bought Twitter for $44 billion but he's still the richest person in the world. Here's how the Tesla and SpaceX CEO makes and spends his $212 billion fortune. (2024)

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Decades before becoming a father of nine and amassing a $212 billion fortune, Musk taught himself to code as a child growing up in South Africa. By the time he was 12, he sold the source code for his first video game for $500. Just before his 18th birthday, Musk moved to Canada and worked a series of hard labor jobs, including shoveling grain, cutting logs, and eventually cleaning out the boiler room in a lumber mill for $18 an hour — an impressive wage in 1989. Musk got a pay cut to $14 an hour when he started a summer internship alongside his brother, Kimbal, at the Bank of Nova Scotia after cold-calling — and impressing — a top executive there. After he arrived for his freshman year at Queens University in 1990, Musk quickly picked up a side hustle selling computer parts and full PCs to other students. "I could build something to suit their needs like a tricked-out gaming machine or a simple word processor that cost less than what they could get in a store," Musk said. Within two years, Musk transferred to the University of Pennsylvania on a partial scholarship. To cover the rest of his tuition, Musk and a buddy would turn their house into a speakeasy on the weekends, charging $5 at the door. "I was paying my own way through college and could make an entire month's rent in one night," Musk said. Musk graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics and an economics degree from the Wharton School and moved on to Stanford to pursue his PhD. He left the program within days to build an internet startup with his brother. They started Zip2, a city guide software for newspapers, with $28,000 in seed money from their father. Four years later, in 1999, they sold Zip2 for $307 million, earning Musk $22 million. He invested more than half of his earnings to cofound X.com, an online banking service. Musk turned his attention to his new space exploration company, SpaceX, after leaving PayPal. A few years later he cofounded electric-car maker, Tesla, and then SolarCity, a solar power systems provider. The success of these companies eventually launched him into the billion-dollar club — but not before he went broke. In late 2008, Musk divorced his first wife and it took a toll on his finances. A year later, Musk said he "ran out of cash" and had been living off loans from friends while trying to keep his companies afloat. But when Tesla debuted on the stock market in 2010, Musk's fortune skyrocketed. By 2012, he appeared on Forbes' richest list for the first time with a net worth of $2 billion. Nearly a decade later, Musk has amassed an $228 billion fortune — but it's not very liquid. Remarkably, Musk made his billions without ever taking apaycheck from Tesla, because the CEO refuses his minimum salary every year. By 2020, Tesla cut his paycheck down to zero. Musk's complicated salary structure means that he's awarded stock options when Tesla hits challenging performance metrics. When Tesla does well, Musk's wealth soars. But Musk has said himself that he's cash-poor. "Some people think I have a lot of cash," Musk told investor Cathie Wood on a podcast last year. "I actually don't." Like a lot of other high-powered executives, Musk relies on mortgages and credit day-to-day. Over the years, the CEO has purchased more than $100 million in residential property in California. He has since offloaded much of his real estate after vowing to sell it all and "own no house" last year. As the leader of one of the preeminent auto-makers, it's no surprise Musk has an affinity for cars. Back in 2013, he paid $920,000 at an auction for the Lotus Esprit submarine car used in a James Bond movie. In addition to driving Teslas, Musk has owned a few gas-powered cars including a Ford Model T, a Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Roadster, a McLaren F1 (which he later totaled), an Audi Q7, a Hamann BMW M5, and a Porsche 911. Despite having funds to spare, Musk isn't a fan of lavish vacations — or any vacations for that matter. In 2015, he said he'd only taken two weeks off since founding SpaceX about 12 years earlier. Musk has five children with his first wife, Justine Musk. In a 2014 tweet, Musk said he takes the kids on an annual camping trip. "I'm a pretty good dad," he said. "I have the kids for slightly more than half the week and spend a fair bit of time with them. I also take them with me when I go out of town." Musk and Canadian musician Grimes welcomed a baby boy in May 2020 named X Æ A-Xii Musk — they appear to call the baby "X" for short. The two also had a second child, a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk or "Y" for short, via surrogate mother. (Musk and Grimes have since broken up.) Insider also reported that Musk quietly had twins in November 2021 with one of his top executives at Neuralink, Shivon Zilis. At the end of the day, the multibillionaire says he enjoys inexpensive hobbies like listening to music, playing video games, and reading books. "Hang out with kids, see friends, normal stuff," he said. "Sometimes go crazy on Twitter. But usually it's work more." In August 2018, Musk told The New York Times that he had taken to working 120 hours a week. "There were times when I didn't leave the factory for three or four days — days when I didn't go outside," he told The Times. "This has really come at the expense of seeing my kids. And seeing friends." Musk said on an earnings call in 2017 that he doesn't have a desk at the Tesla factory: "I always move my desk to wherever — I don't really have a desk actually — I move myself to wherever the biggest problem is in Tesla. I really believe that one should lead from the front lines, and that's why I'm here." Musk admitted to spending "many late nights" at Tesla's Nevada Gigafactory re-writing software during a production sprint for the Model 3. For a story published in August 2018, Insider reporters spoke with 42 Tesla employees who said Musk is a visionary, but also unpredictably demanding. Musk said in June 2019 that he even planned to spend his 48th birthday on June 28 at work, improving the company's "global logistics." Musk told CBS' "60 Minutes" that he is, in fact, "somewhat impulsive" and doesn't "really want to try to adhere to some CEO template." Musk also invests a lot of time, energy, and resources into SpaceX. SpaceX has raised billions to develop, build, and launch Starlink — an effort to cover Earth in ultra-fast broadband internet — and build the prototype of Starship, a gargantuan reusable space vehicle designed to bring people to Mars. The company was valued at $100 billion as of October 2021. Musk also helms The Boring Company, which he founded in 2016 to develop and construct underground tunnels in an effort to mitigate traffic. According to The New York Times, The Boring Company raised over $112 million in 2018 — and more than 90% of it came from Musk. In 2019, the company raised outside funding for the first time to the tune of around $120 million. In 2012, Musk signed The Giving Pledge, vowing to donate the majority of his wealth during his lifetime. Though he's already in the business of improving our environment and the future during his day job, Musk has made sizable donations to causes he cares about, including a $10 million gift to the Future of Life Institute to regulate artificial intelligence. Musk found himself in legal trouble with the SEC in 2018 after he tweeted that he had obtained the funding to take Tesla private, which moved the company's stock price. Musk reached a settlement with the SEC in April 2019 in which he and Tesla both agreed to pay a $20 million penalty. Musk's Twitter habits once again got him into legal trouble in 2019 after he called the British cave diver who helped rescue a Thai soccer team a "pedo guy"; the diver sued Musk, claiming defamation, but a jury ruled in Musk's favor. Musk's net worth soared in 2020 amid the pandemic, increasing by 197% between March and August, according to an analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies. By December 2020, Musk had become the world's second-richest person behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Only a few months later, Musk became the world's richest person and his net worth has only grown since: In October 2021, Musk's wealth increased by $36 billion in a single day, the largest gain ever recorded by Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. His latest and perhaps most exorbitant purchase came Thursday when Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. Investment banks have agreed to help finance the purchase, while Musk pays the rest in cash.

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Executive Lifestyle

Avery Hartmans and Lloyd Lee

Updated

2022-10-28T01:25:18Z

Elon Musk just bought Twitter for $44 billion but he's still the richest person in the world. Here's how the Tesla and SpaceX CEO makes and spends his $212 billion fortune. (1)

Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44B on Thursday, but he's still the richest person in the world.
A notorious workaholic, Musk doesn't spend his money on lavish vacations or expensive hobbies.
Here's how Musk makes and spends his $212 billion fortune.

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Decades before becoming a father of nine and amassing a $212 billion fortune, Musk taught himself to code as a child growing up in South Africa. By the time he was 12, he sold the source code for his first video game for $500.

Source: MONEY

Just before his 18th birthday, Musk moved to Canada and worked a series of hard labor jobs, including shoveling grain, cutting logs, and eventually cleaning out the boiler room in a lumber mill for $18 an hour — an impressive wage in 1989.

Sources:MONEY,Esquire - Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

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Musk got a pay cut to $14 an hour when he started a summer internship alongside his brother, Kimbal, at the Bank of Nova Scotia after cold-calling — and impressing — a top executive there.

Sources:MONEY,Esquire-Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

After he arrived for his freshman year at Queens University in 1990, Musk quickly picked up a side hustle selling computer parts and full PCs to other students. "I could build something to suit their needs like a tricked-out gaming machine or a simple word processor that cost less than what they could get in a store," Musk said.

Sources:MONEY,Esquire-Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Advertisem*nt

Within two years, Musk transferred to the University of Pennsylvania on a partial scholarship.

Sources:MONEY,Esquire-Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

To cover the rest of his tuition, Musk and a buddy would turn their house into a speakeasy on the weekends, charging $5 at the door. "I was paying my own way through college and could make an entire month's rent in one night," Musk said.

Sources:MONEY,Esquire-Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Advertisem*nt

Musk graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics and an economics degree from the Wharton School and moved on to Stanford to pursue his PhD.

Source: MONEY

He left the program within days to build an internet startup with his brother. They started Zip2, a city guide software for newspapers, with $28,000 in seed money from their father.

Source:MONEY

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Four years later, in 1999, they sold Zip2 for $307 million, earning Musk $22 million. He invested more than half of his earnings to cofound X.com, an online banking service.

Source:MONEY

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Musk turned his attention to his new space exploration company, SpaceX, after leaving PayPal. A few years later he cofounded electric-car maker, Tesla, and then SolarCity, a solar power systems provider. The success of these companies eventually launched him into the billion-dollar club — but not before he went broke.

Source:VentureBeat

In late 2008, Musk divorced his first wife and it took a toll on his finances. A year later, Musk said he "ran out of cash" and had been living off loans from friends while trying to keep his companies afloat.

Sources: VentureBeat,Forbes, TechCrunch

Advertisem*nt

But when Tesla debuted on the stock market in 2010, Musk's fortune skyrocketed. By 2012, he appeared on Forbes' richest list for the first time with a net worth of $2 billion.

Source: Forbes

Nearly a decade later, Musk has amassed an $228 billion fortune — but it's not very liquid. Remarkably, Musk made his billions without ever taking apaycheck from Tesla, because the CEO refuses his minimum salary every year. By 2020, Tesla cut his paycheck down to zero.

Source: Bloomberg, Insider

Advertisem*nt

Musk's complicated salary structure means that he's awarded stock options when Tesla hits challenging performance metrics. When Tesla does well, Musk's wealth soars.

Source: Insider

But Musk has said himself that he's cash-poor. "Some people think I have a lot of cash," Musk told investor Cathie Wood on a podcast last year. "I actually don't." Like a lot of other high-powered executives, Musk relies on mortgages and credit day-to-day.

Source: Insider

Advertisem*nt

Over the years, the CEO has purchased more than $100 million in residential property in California. He has since offloaded much of his real estate after vowing to sell it all and "own no house" last year.

Source:The Real Deal, Variety, Insider

As the leader of one of the preeminent auto-makers, it's no surprise Musk has an affinity for cars. Back in 2013, he paid $920,000 at an auction for the Lotus Esprit submarine car used in a James Bond movie.

Source: MONEY, CNBC

Advertisem*nt

In addition to driving Teslas, Musk has owned a few gas-powered cars including a Ford Model T, a Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Roadster, a McLaren F1 (which he later totaled), an Audi Q7, a Hamann BMW M5, and a Porsche 911.

Source: Insider

Despite having funds to spare, Musk isn't a fan of lavish vacations — or any vacations for that matter. In 2015, he said he'd only taken two weeks off since founding SpaceX about 12 years earlier.

Sources: Inc, Quartz

Advertisem*nt

Musk has five children with his first wife, Justine Musk. In a 2014 tweet, Musk said he takes the kids on an annual camping trip. "I'm a pretty good dad," he said. "I have the kids for slightly more than half the week and spend a fair bit of time with them. I also take them with me when I go out of town."

Sources: Twitter,Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Musk and Canadian musician Grimes welcomed a baby boy in May 2020 named X Æ A-Xii Musk — they appear to call the baby "X" for short. The two also had a second child, a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk or "Y" for short, via surrogate mother. (Musk and Grimes have since broken up.)

Source: Insider, Insider

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Insider also reported that Musk quietly had twins in November 2021 with one of his top executives at Neuralink, Shivon Zilis.

Source: Business Insider

At the end of the day, the multibillionaire says he enjoys inexpensive hobbies like listening to music, playing video games, and reading books. "Hang out with kids, see friends, normal stuff," he said. "Sometimes go crazy on Twitter. But usually it's work more."

Source: Quartz

Advertisem*nt

In August 2018, Musk told The New York Times that he had taken to working 120 hours a week. "There were times when I didn't leave the factory for three or four days — days when I didn't go outside," he told The Times. "This has really come at the expense of seeing my kids. And seeing friends."

Source: The New York Times

Musk said on an earnings call in 2017 that he doesn't have a desk at the Tesla factory: "I always move my desk to wherever — I don't really have a desk actually — I move myself to wherever the biggest problem is in Tesla. I really believe that one should lead from the front lines, and that's why I'm here."

Sources: Insider, Fortune

Advertisem*nt

Musk admitted to spending "many late nights" at Tesla's Nevada Gigafactory re-writing software during a production sprint for the Model 3.

Source: Fortune

For a story published in August 2018, Insider reporters spoke with 42 Tesla employees who said Musk is a visionary, but also unpredictably demanding.

Source: Insider

Advertisem*nt

Musk said in June 2019 that he even planned to spend his 48th birthday on June 28 at work, improving the company's "global logistics."

Source: Insider

Musk told CBS' "60 Minutes" that he is, in fact, "somewhat impulsive" and doesn't "really want to try to adhere to some CEO template."

Source: Insider

Advertisem*nt

Musk also invests a lot of time, energy, and resources into SpaceX.

Source: Insider

Advertisem*nt

SpaceX has raised billions to develop, build, and launch Starlink — an effort to cover Earth in ultra-fast broadband internet — and build the prototype of Starship, a gargantuan reusable space vehicle designed to bring people to Mars. The company was valued at $100 billion as of October 2021.

Source: Insider, CNBC

Musk also helms The Boring Company, which he founded in 2016 to develop and construct underground tunnels in an effort to mitigate traffic.

Source: Insider

Advertisem*nt

According to The New York Times, The Boring Company raised over $112 million in 2018 — and more than 90% of it came from Musk. In 2019, the company raised outside funding for the first time to the tune of around $120 million.

Source: The New York Times, Insider

In 2012, Musk signed The Giving Pledge, vowing to donate the majority of his wealth during his lifetime. Though he's already in the business of improving our environment and the future during his day job, Musk has made sizable donations to causes he cares about, including a $10 million gift to the Future of Life Institute to regulate artificial intelligence.

Sources: Twitter, Insider

Advertisem*nt

Musk found himself in legal trouble with the SEC in 2018 after he tweeted that he had obtained the funding to take Tesla private, which moved the company's stock price. Musk reached a settlement with the SEC in April 2019 in which he and Tesla both agreed to pay a $20 million penalty.

Source: Insider

Advertisem*nt

Musk's Twitter habits once again got him into legal trouble in 2019 after he called the British cave diver who helped rescue a Thai soccer team a "pedo guy"; the diver sued Musk, claiming defamation, but a jury ruled in Musk's favor.

Source: Insider

Musk's net worth soared in 2020 amid the pandemic, increasing by 197% between March and August, according to an analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies. By December 2020, Musk had become the world's second-richest person behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Source: Insider

Advertisem*nt

Only a few months later, Musk became the world's richest person and his net worth has only grown since: In October 2021, Musk's wealth increased by $36 billion in a single day, the largest gain ever recorded by Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.

Source: Insider

Advertisem*nt

His latest and perhaps most exorbitant purchase came Thursday when Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. Investment banks have agreed to help finance the purchase, while Musk pays the rest in cash.

Source: The New York Times