{"id":12158,"date":"2024-03-07T10:25:12","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T09:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceoinfluencers.com\/?p=12158"},"modified":"2024-03-07T10:25:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T09:25:12","slug":"how-elon-musk-became-so-rich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceoinfluencers.com\/how-elon-musk-became-so-rich\/","title":{"rendered":"How Elon Musk Became So Rich"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We’ve all heard of the name Elon Musk. For those who don’t know, he is the founder and CEO of high-end Tesla cars, SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. He is arguably the most ambitious and successful entrepreneur in the world and a true force of inspiration. In fact, he’s so successful that he’s currently worth more than $20.6 billion, making him the world’s third-richest person. But how exactly did this South African-born entrepreneur become so wealthy? To answer that, let’s take a closer look at the life and career of Elon Musk.<\/p>\n

Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, but moved to Canada at the age of 17. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics, he moved to California to pursue a Ph.D. in applied physics at Stanford University. But before he could even begin his studies, Musk realized that he was interested in the potential of the Internet and the new technology sector. He left Stanford after only two days and founded the web software company Zip2 with his brother. <\/p>\n

Zip2 was an online city guide that later became a part of computer giant Compaq, earning Musk a $22 million dollar payout. Musk then decided to invest this money into his next two entrepreneurial endeavors: X.com (later known as PayPal) and SpaceX. X.com was an online bank that allowed users to transfer money worldwide. Musk’s involvement in the company led to a successful merger with Confinity, which gave him a stake of 11.7%. This stake eventually earned him the largest payout of $165 million when PayPal went public.<\/p>\n

Musk then decided to invest this money into SpaceX, a space exploration company that develops and manufactures rockets and spacecrafts. It completed its first successful rocket launch in 2008 and since then, it has seen immense success. For example, in 2012, SpaceX became the first private company to send a mission to the International Space Station (ISS). This success led to a number of lucrative contracts with NASA and other military institutions, helping the company become an industry leader. Musk currently owns a 48% stake in the company and its total worth is estimated to be over $20.5 billion. <\/p>\n