1. Income & Wealth
A day in the life of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is essentially one of infinite possibility and wealth. Incredibly, Musk has a net worth estimated by Forbes to be an astonishing $69.2 billion. The rate of his wealth accumulation is almost unparalleled, increasing at an incredible rate of $2 million dollars per hour, equating to around $50 million a day.
Musk’s primary source of income throughout his career is derived from his high-profile executive roles as the CEO and CTO at both Tesla and SpaceX, as well as from capital investments across a wider portfolio of ventures. Estimates of Musk’s salary and income from these roles range from over $50 million in 2018 to as much as $100 million this year. Reports also suggest that he made over $156 million in 2016. Additionally, many of Elon’s investments benefit from stock options. In 2012 alone, the worldly savvy business mogul earned $78.2 million in Tesla stock options.
2. Vernacular Investments
It has often been reported that Elon Musk has made much more through investments than through his salary. A great example of this is his role as the Chairman at Solarcity. By investing $90 million of his own money he was able to have a hand in transforming the energy industry by offering solar panel energy alternatives for homes and businesses throughout the US.
Besides his famous investment in Solarcity, Elon Musk has also seen success from his investments in NantHealth and PayPal. Through his involvement with Nanthealth, he was able to provide the tools and techniques to improve healthcare systems and digitize patient data. By investing in PayPal when it was initially released, it allowed Musk to make a huge return on his initial investment – managing to get 10 million dollars for his 10% stake in the company.
3. Philanthropy
Elon Musk is also associated with numerous charitable organizations and projects. Despite his vast wealth, he remains quite non-materialistic, mostly giving away his maximum wealth potential to causes he cares about.
For instance, Elon Musk signed The Giving Pledge in 2012– a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to devote the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. An in-depth look at his charity work reveals that much of his philanthropy is concentrated in close vicinity to his home in Los Angeles. For example, in 2012, he donated $1 million to the young scientists program at local state schools.
Moreover, Musk has endowments throughout Los Angeles that have had significant benefits for individuals in that city. In 2017, Musk launched Neuralink, a company dedicated to researching the brain-computer interface to accelerate the pace of piecemeal advances in the entire neurological field.
4. Real Estate
Elon Musk’s real estate endeavors represent a primary source of his income. There have been reports that he had bought an historic estate in Bel-Air for $17 million in 2012, and a report from LA Times in 2017 indicated that he has been buying four more houses in the same area.
In September 2019, it was reported that he had purchased a $72.3-million estate in the affluent community of Hillsborough in San Francisco. Additionally, he purchased a 5,000 acre estate in western United States to which he referred to as a “futuristic utopia”. This expensive estate is located in the rural countryside of Texas and was estimated to be worth approximately $3.2 million.
5. Capitalism & Price Manipulation
Elon Musk’s influence and influence on our modern business landscape is unparalleled. Within the business sphere, some people have accused Musk of manipulating stock prices, with some alleging that Musk’s tweeting of Tesla’s stock prices have had a direct impact on the value of the stock. This sort of phenomenon is known as “pump and dump” and many have accused Musk of being responsible for boosting the prices of Tesla, to the detriment of his own investors and shareholders alike.
But others argue that his influence and charisma in the business world is extremely beneficial for any company he is a part of. His ability to bring bright ideas, innovative technologies and captivating marketing tactics to the table is what sets his products apart from the crowd and who can deny that this doesn’t pay off drastically?
6. Risky Ventures & Speculation
Despite all of his success, Elon Musk is not without risk. As with any business venture, there is always the possibility of failure. Often, Musk will take risks and be the first to do so for a particular business opportunity. This boils down to the idea that Musk is willing to take risks and is not afraid of the consequences.
For instance, he was the first to establish a consumer electric car, the Tesla Model S, and he has also pursued other innovative projects such as Hyperloop and planned an array of other futuristic ventures. Although some of these businesses tend to be highly speculative, with no guarantee of success, Musk’s boldness and risk-taking has been proven to pay off numerous times – making him millions in return.
7. Luxury Purchases & Holidays
Even though Elon Musk works an immense amount of hours and has acquired his wealth mostly through exercising his business acumen, he still finds time to enjoy the finer things in life. As the world’s richest man, Elon Musk often splurges on luxurious holidays and lifestyle purchases.
Musk is a big fan of private jets and has purchased a fleet of eight jets for his own personal use. He has also invested in some of the most expensive holidays. In 2016 he splurged on a luxury vacation to the exotic Kauai Island off of Hawaii. His main residence is in the affluent hills of Bel Air, and he also owns multiple homes around the world.
8. Business Relationships & Collaborations
Aside from Elon Musk’s stock popularity, much of his wealth over the years has been through successful business relationships and collaborations. One of his earliest business successes was his involvement as the strategic partner of tech giant Compaq Computers.
In the early 2000s, Elon Musk played a pivotal role in founding the online payments company PayPal, together with Peter Thiel and Max Levchin. Furthermore, through his involvement in the automotive industry, he founded Tesla and SolarCity and is the current CEO of both companies.
Elon Musk has also done a multitude of other business collaborations with the likes of Oracle, Amazon, and Microsoft Azure – each providing a substantial return on his investments.
9. Personal Branding
Elon Musk is known for his vision and ambition. After he failed to succeed at Zip2, he quickly moved on to his next project and a string of successes followed. Musk’s success and ambition have gained him a huge following on social media, and it is through his personal brand that he has made vast amounts of money.
Musk has also managed to build his own personal brand. Through ventures like X.com, he has managed to create an online dialogue between himself and his followers which has proven to be an incredibly successful marketing tool. His notoriety has given him the power to influence people and the products they buy and to achieve the impossible.
10. Legacy
Elon Musk’s vast wealth has enabled him to write his own history and to leave his own legacy that will last far beyond himself. His major investment in green energy systems and technological achievements is surely going to be remembered for a long time. His ambition and drive have also encouraged countless others to have confidence in pursuing their own dreams and visions.
Many view Musk as a revolutionary and an icon of our current generation, and his influence has echoed into different aspects of our society. He has become the epitome of modern entrepreneurship and success and is arguably one of the most ambitious and successful businessmen of our time.
11. Environmentalism
Largely driven by a desire to rid the planet of emissions, Elon Musk is firmly in the center of the digital and environmental transformation of the modern world. His promises with Tesla and SpaceX to send humans to Mars and to build fully-fledged digital and electric transport systems have become increasingly realistic as his projects rapidly progress.
His work in the field of sustainability has been noticed across the world, with his leading role in the production of electric cars pushing the boundaries for sustainable energy usage. Tesla, SpaceX, and the Boring Company have all aimed to reduce the environmental footprint of our everyday lives, with Tesla introducing solar batteries and SpaceX continuing to make way in the development of reusable rockets.
12. Autonomous AI
The cutting edge of modern technology is rapidly becoming a reality in today’s day and age. One of many of Musk’s new vision for the future involves the rise of autonomous AI, with heavy development into driverless cars, robotics, and home automation.
As part of his mission to revolutionize the world’s digital landscape and progress towards more efficient, autonomous transport systems, Tesla has launched its ‘Autopilot’ cars. This ambitious project has been hugely successful, making strides toward creating a safer, smarter transport system.
Additionally, Musk has thrown his hat into the ring of artificial intelligence, with his plans for the much anticipated ‘Neuralink’. Aiming to be a brain-computer interface, Neuralink is set to revolutionize the way the human brain interacts with its digital interactive environment, leading the charge for humans to be able to tap into the electronic world without the need for a computer.
13. Upcoming Projects
The future certainly looks bright for Elon Musk and his ambitions. With a multitude of projects in the works and offered up by his various companies, here are a few of the most exciting upcoming products and releases in the works that may yield a great ROI:
– Tesla released the Model Y crossover SUV, with potential sales forecasts ranging from 400,000 units per year
– Tesla’s full self-driving capabilities and the Tesla robotaxi network
– The Starship rocket, a newly designed craft for deep-space exploration
– The Boring Company, looking to offer a new way of urban transportation
– SolarCity and its solar roof tile technology as an alternative to traditional roofing
It’s clear to see why Elon Musk’s wealth is set to increase at an astounding rate, as the world keeps on turning at an ever-faster rate thanks to the deluge of innovative products, services and ideas that the billionaire entrepreneur is pushing forward.
