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The Elon Musk worth took some time to reach its mind-boggling heights, and it was inevitable that eventually, he would get to the top spot (Thanks, Tesla!). The competition is fierce though, and if there is something that the past years have shown to us, it is how quickly things change. More so, how much of an impact these changes have on our lives and businesses that need to adapt continuously. Let’s review how much is Elon Musk worth compared to the rest of the mega billionaires in the “Top 10” list as of January 2021:
| 🥇 Elon Musk | $202 billion |
| 🥈 Jeff Bezos | $185.7 billion |
| 🥉 Bernard Arnault | $155.4 billion |
| 4️⃣ Bill Gates | $120.3 billion |
| 5️⃣ Mark Zuckerberg | $90 billion |
| 6️⃣ Larry Elisson | $86.9 billion |
| 7️⃣ Warren Buffet | $85.6 billion |
| 8️⃣ Larry Page | $78.1 billion |
| 9️⃣ Sergey Brin | $75.4 billion |
| 🔟 Steve Ballmer | $72.5 billion |
We can see that the Elon Musk wealth is currently standing at more than $200 billion in the exclusively-male top earners’ list. The gap between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos may look massive, but let us just point out that up until recently, it was the Amazon CEO that was the only living person ever to have amassed a fortune greater than $200 billion. That $17-billion difference some view as the yearly GDP or an entire nation such as Iceland, but it’s a child’s play for the world’s wealthiest.
Elon Musk hasn’t always been in the running for the top spot though. In fact, he was nowhere near the top spot just this past year. Like the other gentlemen’s fortunes, his has been fluctuating from time to time, but he never experienced such a drastic difference. Here is what his net worth has looked like in the past several years, including today:
- 2021 – $202 billion
- 2020 – $24.6 billion
- 2019 – $23.6 billion
- 2018 – $25.8 billion
- 2017 – $20 billion
- 2016 – $13.9 billion
- 2015 – $13.2 billion
- 2014 – $8.4 billion
- 2013 – $2.7 billion
- 2012 – $2 billion
The Elon Musk net worth has always been steadily on the rise – more or less – thanks to his undying thirst for innovation and engineering mastermind. However, what his fortune has experienced in the past year is truly unheard of and definitely something to be admired.
What Stands Behind the Commandable Elon Musk Wealth?
Elon Musk has always been an entrepreneur at heart. His past ventures and decisions into the business world have led him to become a CEO, founder, co-founder, designer, engineer, board chairman, and investor at various companies, all of which have done exceptionally well under his command and influence. He possesses business acumen many are envious of, and the results are clearly showing.
It’s not easy to become a billionaire. It’s pretty impossible for most people. You could try and win the PowerBall, but even the largest lottery jackpots in US history won’t bring you even close to what the Elon Musk worth was, even before its major 2020 leap. So, what is the modern-day Tony Stark currently involved in business-wise?
- Space X – Founder, lead designer, and current CEO, owns about 54%
- Tesla, Inc. – Active CEO and lead designer, original founder, largest investor at 22%
- The Boring Company – Founder
- X.com – Founder, later renamed to PayPal
- Neuralink – Co-founder, CEO
- OpenAI – Co-founder and donor
All of these titles and business-doings might seem like too many watermelons under one arm. Still, Elon Musk manages to successfully juggle everything and steer each ship in the right direction, no matter if the end means a merger, acquisition or passing on the baton.
Main Contributors to Elon Musk’s Wealth at a Glance
Now that you know exactly how much is Elon Musk worth, let’s quickly review the companies that have had the most significant impact on his professional and personal life. All of them are considered game-changers in the disruptive technology world, so we ought to pay a little respect to the products that turned him into what he is today, without getting too carried away, of course.
Tesla, Inc. – The Electric Company That Is Changing the Future
Tesla, Inc. pioneers at producing electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries, and everything related to using the Sun and electricity as the main power source in our day-to-day activities. One can argue that it is thanks to Tesla in large part that the world shifted the conversation regarding battery-fueled cars and its popularisation around the world. Besides the more than a million units sold, the company is the leading provider of battery storage units on a global scale. The Elon Musk wealth ranking would not look the way it does today if it wasn’t for Tesla.
SpaceX – The Human Drive for Exploration Knows No Bounds
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is a Musk brainchild specialising in the manufacturing of aerospace and space exploration technologies. Founded nearly two decades ago, SpaceX came into existence with the main idea of leading to more cost-effective transportation in space and help humankind colonise other planets, particularly Mars. The company has already had successful launches of crewed and uncrewed rockets and is the largest satellite owner, the aim of which is to bring connectivity and Internet to the entire world. Talking about a venture that could rake in billions in your bank account.
PayPal – The Revolutionary E-Wallet We All Know and Love
We all know and love PayPal. It has made our banking procedures and transactions so much easier and hassle-free. Even though he is no longer part of it, it has also helped the Elon Musk net worth get into good and healthy shape. It’s hard to imagine a world at which you wouldn’t be able to rely on PayPal, no matter what you want to use it for. With more than 350 million active users, people use it for all sorts of things in their daily routines. Some pay their bills, other order things online, there are even people that fund their PayPal casino sites with it.
The Main Reason Why Elon Musk Became Number One
Elon Musk could be the poorest billionaire right now. Why? Because the majority of his wealth stems from the shares that he owns in his companies, most notably Tesla and SpaceX. So, while he still has billions in his private bank accounts, the rest of the Elon Musk net worth is directly tied with his companies’ performance on the stock market.
SpaceX and Tesla – in particular – had exceptional years which led to an increase of 650% in the value of a Tesla share alone, with the current price circling the $800-dollar range. This significant increase led to the immense growth of the Elon Musk wealth ranking. If the bubble is to burst, he will plummet back to the “abysmal” 30-something billion dollars.
We all know how volatile the trading market and environment is. Many consider trading as a form of gambling. The prospects of investing in companies such as Tesla and see your profits increase exponentially as it happened with everybody that chose to do so in 2020 are quite alluring. However, you need to have extensive knowledge of the company’s performance and history. Nothing is permanent and certain in the stock exchange world. It will be interesting to track how much is Elon Musk worth in a year’s time.
What’s Next for Elon Musk? Can He Become Even Richer?
The man is a genius, and his dozens of ventures into different business fields and the gargantuan Elon Musk net worth are a testament to it. He has always been a man of grand ideas, and few people can match the scale of his ambitions. So what’s next for him? These are some of the grandest of endeavours that are slowly taking shape and are expected to become a reality and boost the Elon Musk wealth ranking even more.
- Colonise Mars – The idea of space tourism and humans becoming an interplanetary species has been on Elon’s mind since the creation of SpaceX nearly two decades ago. He wants to colonise Mars and he wants to do it soon. Spacecrafts have been built and are tested as we speak. He expects to have everything ready as soon as 2024. Imagine what will happen with the stock exchange, SpaceX’s shares, and the Elon Musk worth after the first successful launch.
- The Hyperloop and 3D Traffic – Mr Musk hates to waste time in traffic jams and lengthy commutes. He has expressed his frustration with it on more than one occasion. His solution? Go underground. 3D trafficking consists of an extensive network of tubes and elevators that will transport cars and passengers. The Hyperloop is a pod-like capsule that would move in a low-pressure tube. With the help of magnetic linear accelerators, the pods will travel faster than commercial aeroplanes.
- Eradicate the Need of Fossile Fuels – Turning to the Sun, as opposed to the Earth’s core for energy resources has been a top priority for Elon for years now. Tesla has already impacted the automobile industry, whereas its subsidiary SolarCity dedicates significant resources to making solar energy mainstream. It has already created roofs made entirely of shockproof solar tiles and dozens of other successful solar plants and projects.
Charitable Efforts and Philantrophy
Knowing how much is Elon Musk worth and being the wealthiest person on the planet is definitely going to put a lot of pressure with regards to his philanthropy. However, the man has a plan. He has taken it to Twitter to ask for advice about charities worth donating funds to. Besides, he has stated that he will donate half of his fortune to charity. It may seem easy to donate money left and right, but it is “way harder than it seems” as he points ut himself.
Aside from his current wealth conundrums, the Elon Musk net worth has been put to good use through the years, and he has given millions to various projects, organisations, and groups, through the Musk Foundation, as well. Beneficiaries include the Ad Astra/AstraNova private school, The University of Pennsylvania, the Big Green and Wikimedia foundations, the Future of Life Institute. It is estimated that he has spent upwards of $100 million so far. It’s a long way to $100 billion, so it will be interesting to see, what else the Elon Musk wealth will be spent on.
Let’s Put the Elon Musk Worth into Perspective
The Elon Musk net worth is unheard of. In fact, it could be difficult for most people to comprehend just how much money we are really talking about here. We hear talks about billions of dollars so often on the news these days that we are kind of used to it. However, we are talking about two hundred billion here…that’s a two, followed by eleven zeros. To truly consider the scale of the amount, we’ve decided to put it into perspective and see what the Elon Musk wealth can get you:
- Buy 55,555 Bugatti Chirons – the most expensive car in the world as of 2021, and you will have a different one to drive every day for the next 152 years.
- Buy 142,959,257 iPhone Pro Max 512 GB smartphones – enough to hand one to nearly a third of the entire European Union population.
- Buy the iconic Empire State Building 105 times.
- Provide a year worth of sponsorship to 1,466,276 African villages of 300 people.
- Give access to water and food for a full year to 439,882,698 African individuals in need. That is one-third of the population of the entire continent.
- Bet the third most valuable brand of the planet behind Apple and Google.
- Build 10,917 schools – 2,000 more than the total number of public schools in Portugal.
These are some really crazy numbers that tell us one thing: Elon Musk is crazy wealthy. Of course, there are various ways in which rich people invest. Some billionaires travel the world on private planes and yachts while enjoying the clicking sounds of Moët & Chandon-filled champagne glasses. Others prefer to buy humongous estates and properties. There is even a third group of individuals that go through millions at a time while gambling. Why do rich people gamble? With an unlimited bank account, why wouldn’t they.
Frequent Questions People Wonder About
The Elon Musk net worth is a hot topic, and everybody is looking for various information around the web regarding it and him as an individual. We have amassed several of the most burning questions that people all over want answers for, immediately. In case you have a few extra spare minutes, please give them a quick skim.
