Having established his life as one of the most influential billionaires, Elon Musk has never failed to drive progress through innovation, with numerous accomplishments to his name. Born in South Africa in 1971, the 48-year-old tech mogul has since accumulated a fortune of $27.2 billion, with no signs of slowing down. But who else is Musk richer than?
Musk inadvertently has surpassed plenty of public figures in terms of wealth, dominating the Global Billionaires Index. In a comparison of his net worth to that of countries, Nations in Data reveals that Musk is richer than 31 countries, with some of the remarkable few including Jamaica, Qatar, Slovakia, Latvia and Oman.
Another analysis of Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index accords to the fact that Musk has more money than 80 percent of the world’s countries, some of which include Libya ($18.3 billion), Croatia ($17.2 billion) and Austria ($14.2 billion). Notably, Musk’s funding is enough to be the 54th richest country in the world, outpacing countries such as Singapore ($266.3 billion) and Denmark ($350.1 billion).
Forbes further breaks down the data, showing that Elon Musk is also wealthier than many continental countries such as Austria, Portugal and Belgium. All of these countries have struggled to contain their sovereign debts and this puts Musk’s success in perspective, especially when the global economy is currently suffering from the effects of the pandemic.
Tesla’s Success
Notably, much of Musk’s wealth has been accumulated from Tesla – having heavily invested in the electric car company. The monumental success of Tesla during the previous year has rapidly pushed Tesla’s overall value to $800 billion, a figure deemed unfathomable during the company’s early years.
Since the debut of the Tesla Model S in 2012, the company has made leaps and bounds in terms of production and sales, especially when the company is able to expand its customer base in Europe and China. Additionally, Tesla is diversifying its presence in the automobile sector, making inroads into the world of luxury cars.
Tesla’s share prices have skyrocketed and it’s hard to ignore Musk’s effort to single-handedly revolutionize the auto industry. For every three stocks bought, Musk secures a point of wealth index and this has since caused the government to take action.
Stock Manipulation Accusations
The Securities and Exchange Commission brought charges against the CEO in 2018, accusing him of manipulating Tesla’s market value after he tweeted of taking Tesla private at 420 USD a share. He was later fined 20 million USD but avoided a ban from holding an executive position at Tesla.
However, Musk’s bond with Tesla has condensed, with the SEC noting, “Musk has not made a diligent or good faith effort to comply with the court’s order”. This incident has allowed the rest of the public to draw the conclusion that Musk has bought himself out of quite a few sticky situations – from court battles to keeping a tight reign on his empire.
The Impact on Elon Musk’s Wealth
Regardless of circumstances, Musk remains one of the most powerful billionaires in the world. To put it in perspective, the Elon Musk net worth has skyrocketed by $15.2 billion in 2020 alone, an unprecedented increase that could be partly attributed to the recent success of Tesla shares.
Experts believe that there is still much potential for Musk to further increase his wealth with the promising growth of Space-X, Tesla and the many new ventures he’s pursuing. Particularly, the Space-X journey to Mars has everyone riveted and Musk is said to have ambitions to send a million people to the red planet within a few decades.
Regardless of the controversy and legal battles, Musk remains a significant figure in the world of innovation and technology. In the end, it’s no wonder that he’s dominant in the world’s rich list, rivaling the wealth of many countries across the globe.
The Non-Profit Contribution
On the other hand, Musk has also given back to society through his charitable contributions, with Panasonic announcing 3 million USD from the Tesla billionaire to relief efforts aimed at combating the Novel Coronavirus. Other individuals such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have also followed suit, highlighting Musk’s enthusiasm to use his resources for the greater benefit of people. Therefore, Musk is reaping numerous benefits from his businesses, showing that the power of entrepreneurship is potentially endless.
Perhaps it can be said that Musk’s own wealth does not only come from a single origin, making it more solidified over the years. With various sources of income and generous donations, Elon Musk’s net worth is rapidly increasing and it’s safe to say that he won’t be running out of money anytime soon.
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