Elon Musk
- Birth: 28 Jun 1971
- Death: —
- Age: 54 years
- Net Worth: $500.0B USD
- Income Source: Ownership stakes in Tesla, ownership stakes in SpaceX, ownership stakes in xAI
Biography
Born June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa, Elon Reeve Musk grew up in a turbulent household, son of model Maye and engineer Errol Musk. A voracious reader and self-taught coder, he sold his first game, Blastar, at age 12. At 17, he fled apartheid South Africa for Canada, then the U.S., earning degrees in physics and economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Musk's empire began with Zip2, sold for $307 million in 1999, netting him $22 million. He co-founded X.com, which became PayPal, sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002—his $180 million windfall. In 2002, he launched SpaceX to colonize Mars; 2004 saw him invest in and lead Tesla, revolutionizing EVs. SolarCity (now Tesla Energy), Neuralink (brain interfaces), The Boring Company (tunnels), and xAI (AI for humanity) followed.
Acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, he rebranded it X, amplifying free speech amid controversies. His 2024 Trump endorsement and DOGE role slashed regulations, boosting stocks. By October 2025, Musk hit $500 billion net worth—the first ever—fueled by Tesla's AI pivot, SpaceX's $400 billion valuation, and xAI's $75 billion rise.
A father of 12, Musk's personal life includes three marriages and trans daughter Vivian's estrangement. He's pledged most wealth to charity via the Musk Foundation, focusing on renewables and education. Critics decry his labor practices, Twitter chaos, and political sway; fans hail his multi-planetary dreams.
Musk embodies audacious risk: reusable rockets, Cybertrucks, Starship explosions turned triumphs. At 54, with Starlink beaming internet globally and Optimus robots marching, he pushes humanity's frontiers—flawed, relentless, transformative.
Musk's empire began with Zip2, sold for $307 million in 1999, netting him $22 million. He co-founded X.com, which became PayPal, sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002—his $180 million windfall. In 2002, he launched SpaceX to colonize Mars; 2004 saw him invest in and lead Tesla, revolutionizing EVs. SolarCity (now Tesla Energy), Neuralink (brain interfaces), The Boring Company (tunnels), and xAI (AI for humanity) followed.
Acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, he rebranded it X, amplifying free speech amid controversies. His 2024 Trump endorsement and DOGE role slashed regulations, boosting stocks. By October 2025, Musk hit $500 billion net worth—the first ever—fueled by Tesla's AI pivot, SpaceX's $400 billion valuation, and xAI's $75 billion rise.
A father of 12, Musk's personal life includes three marriages and trans daughter Vivian's estrangement. He's pledged most wealth to charity via the Musk Foundation, focusing on renewables and education. Critics decry his labor practices, Twitter chaos, and political sway; fans hail his multi-planetary dreams.
Musk embodies audacious risk: reusable rockets, Cybertrucks, Starship explosions turned triumphs. At 54, with Starlink beaming internet globally and Optimus robots marching, he pushes humanity's frontiers—flawed, relentless, transformative.