What does Elon Musk do with all his money? Exploring how the world’s richest man spends and saves
What does Elon Musk do with all his money Elon Musk, whose net worth briefly exceeded $500 billion, has long been among the wealthiest individuals in the world. Despite this vast fortune, he has portrayed his lifestyle as remarkably modest, even stating in 2021 that he lived in a prefabricated home in Texas worth about $50,000. His former partner, musician Grimes, told Vanity Fair in 2022 that “Bro does not live like a billionaire. … Bro lives at times below the poverty line.” While Musk oversees high-profile companies such as Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, this contrast between unprecedented wealth and a minimalist approach to personal property raises questions about how he chooses to live and invest his resources.
Elon Musk Becomes First Man To Have $500 Billion Wealth
Inside Elon Musk’s $100 million real estate exit
At one time, Musk owned several luxury homes in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles, reported to have cost around $100 million in total. He publicly announced in 2020 that he would “sell almost all physical possessions” and stated, “I will own no house.” One of the properties, formerly owned by actor Gene Wilder, was later sold to Wilder’s nephew and then reportedly returned to Musk’s ownership after a repayment default in mid-2025.Despite the sale of his portfolio, Musk did buy or retain a small prefabricated home in the Starbase area of Texas in 2021, which he described as his “primary home,” at a purported cost of around $50,000.
Elon Musk’s ultimate car collection
While Musk has pared down his real estate, his automotive acquisitions reveal a different side. According to The BBC reports, his collection includes a Ford Model T, a 1967 Jaguar E-Type, a 1997 McLaren F1 (which he crashed and later repaired), and the 1976 James Bond Lotus Esprit “Wet Nellie,” bought for nearly $1 million in 2013 with the intention of restoring its submarine functionality. He also owns or owned a Tesla Roadster, the first production model of Tesla, which famously travelled into space aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket in 2018.
Private jets and the “need to work” argument
Musk is known to travel by private jets, including Gulfstream models, each worth tens of millions of dollars. He has justified such purchases by stating that skipping air travel reduces his working hours. The jets enable him to travel rapidly across Tesla and SpaceX sites in the US and globally, supporting his high-intensity schedule.
Purchase of Twitter and business footprint
In October 2022, Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter (now rebranded “X”) for approximately $44 billion, marking one of the largest ever private takeovers in tech history. The move underscored his broad influence across electric vehicles, space, neuroscience, and social media domains.
Philanthropy and the Musk Foundation
The Musk Foundation, founded in 2002, states its mission as advancing humanity through scientific research, technological innovation and ambitious endeavour. Musk has donated several billions of dollars in company stock to philanthropy. Yet a New York Times review found the foundation had reportedly failed to meet minimum US payout requirements for multiple years and that many grants went to organisations with links to Musk’s businesses, raising questions about the structure of his charitable activities.
A paradoxical lifestyle by design
Elon Musk’s financial and personal choices present a paradox: an individual with vast wealth who claims to live simply, sell real estate, live in a modest house, yet own rare cars and private jets, and who leads companies that themselves carry his vision of benefitting humanity. His approach reflects a personal philosophy in which he appears less focused on personal luxury and more on concentrating resources, time, assets and capital on what he terms “humanity’s future.”
