Elon Musk is the richest man in the world, with a huge net worth of $385.6 billion! At 53 years old, he is the founder of famous companies like Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and xAI. He even advised former President Donald Trump on making the government more efficient.
How Did He Get So Rich?
Elon said he started coding when he was just 10 years old. His dad, Errol, was an engineer, and his mom, Maye, was a model. When he was 17, he left South Africa and moved to Canada to escape military service. He later attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied physics and economics.
Early Businesses: Zip2 and PayPal
Elon’s first big business was called Zip2, which he started with his brother in 1995. They helped newspapers create online city guides. In 1999, Compaq bought Zip2 for $307 million, giving Elon $22 million.
Then, he started an online payment company called X.com. After merging with another company, they created PayPal. Even though he was removed as the CEO, Elon still owned shares. When eBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion, Elon made about $175.8 million.
SpaceX: Exploring New Worlds
In 2002, Elon founded SpaceX to make space travel cheaper. The first few rocket launches failed, and the company almost went bankrupt. Luckily, the fourth launch succeeded, and NASA gave SpaceX a big contract. Now, SpaceX is worth around $350 billion!
Tesla: Changing Cars Forever
In 2004, Elon joined Tesla Motors, a company that makes electric cars. He invested $6.5 million and became the CEO in 2008. With electric cars growing in popularity, Tesla’s stock price increased dramatically!
More Ventures: X and Beyond
In 2022, Elon bought Twitter for $44 billion and renamed it X, but the company lost value soon after. His AI company, xAI, became worth $50 billion in late 2024. He also has other projects like Neuralink, which focuses on brain implants, and The Boring Company, which builds tunnels.
Despite reaching a net worth of $400 billion in 2024, Elon faced some ups and downs. His wealth dropped by $126 billion due to Tesla’s profit decline and his political ties. He describes himself as “cash poor” since most of his money is in shares, which he has borrowed against.
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