00:00Today on Forbes, Elon Musk's money.
00:04How he made it and spends it.
00:07Elon Musk, the 53-year-old CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and XAI, is the richest person on Earth.
00:14He is now arguably the most powerful, too.
00:17A former Democrat and a South African who came to the U.S. via Canada as a college student,
00:23Musk became a big backer of Donald Trump in the run-up to the November 5th election, speaking
00:28at rallies and donating $119 million to return him to the White House.
00:33It may have been the best money he ever spent.
00:36In Trump's presidential victory speech, the president-elect declared Musk a genius, then
00:42welcomed him into his inner circle at Mar-a-Lago, and even included him in a Trump family photo.
00:47A week after the election, Trump named Musk a co-chair of a new advisory group, the Department
00:53of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, tasked with reducing waste and excess regulations
00:58in the federal government.
00:59There are potentially significant conflicts of interest at play, given Musk's company's
01:05ties to the federal government.
01:07Musk-led SpaceX has inked nearly $20 billion in contracts with NASA and the Department
01:12of Defense since 2008.
01:15Musk-led Tesla has faced investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
01:20over the safety of its autopilot and so-called full self-driving features, following reports
01:25of multiple crashes, including at least 30 that resulted in fatalities since 2018.
01:31And Musk-controlled X, formerly called Twitter, is subject to regulation by the Federal Communications
01:37Commission.
01:38Trump recently nominated as FCC chairman a current FCC director who has been outspoken
01:43about his support for Musk's companies.
01:46Meanwhile, investors appear to applaud these ties.
01:49Shares of Tesla surged in the weeks after the election, helping to push Musk's fortune
01:54up $70 billion to a record high of $334 billion on Friday, November 22.
02:02Earlier last month, on November 8, Musk crossed the $300 billion mark for the first time since
02:07April 2022.
02:09He had previously become the first person ever worth at least $300 billion in November
02:142021.
02:15Here's a brief asset breakdown of his net worth as of November 22nd.
02:22Tesla makes up 58.3 percent, or $195 billion, of his fortune.
02:28He owns about 12 percent of Tesla, excluding options, but has pledged more than half his
02:33shares as collateral for personal loans of up to $3.5 billion.
02:38In early 2024, a Delaware judge voided Musk's 2018 deal to receive options equalling an
02:44additional 9 percent of Tesla.
02:47Forbes has discounted the options by 50 percent, pending Musk's appeal.
02:51Tesla has generated $8.7 billion of revenue selling state and federal EV credits to other
02:57auto manufacturers since 2020, accounting for 12 percent of its gross profit.
03:04SpaceX makes up 26.6 percent, or $89 billion, of Musk's fortune.
03:10Forbes estimates that he owns 42 percent of the reusable rocket company, which is worth
03:14nearly $210 billion based on a tender offer launched during the second half of 2024.
03:22SpaceX is reportedly preparing to do another tender offer this month that would value the
03:26company at more than $250 billion, and Musk's stake at more than $105 billion.
03:34XAI makes up 8.1 percent, or $27 billion, of Musk's fortune.
03:40He owns an estimated 54 percent of the artificial intelligence startup, which he founded in
03:442023.
03:46It released its Grok chatbot, available to premium subscribers of X, in November 2023.
03:52XAI reportedly raised $5 billion from private investors at a $50 billion valuation in November
03:582024.
04:00That followed a $6 billion fundraising round in May 2024, which had valued XAI at $24 billion.
04:07XAI's revenues have reportedly reached $100 million on an annualized basis.
04:14Xcorp makes up 2 percent, or $6.7 billion, of Musk's fortune.
04:20Musk gave Twitter the new name X in late July 2023, less than a year after acquiring the
04:25social media company for $44 billion.
04:28Now the company is worth just $9 billion net of debt, Forbes estimates.
04:34To value Musk's stake, Forbes used Investor Fidelity's publicly reported valuation of
04:38its stake, which fell 71 percent between October 2022 and June 2024.
04:45Forbes estimates that Musk owns 74 percent of the company, calculated based on equity
04:49commitments from other investors disclosed in the filings with the Securities and Exchange
04:53Commission.
04:55So far, it's been a money-losing investment for the tycoon, but it has given him something
04:59perhaps even more valuable — control of a powerful global mouthpiece where he has
05:04206 million followers.
05:08Musk's other assets include The Boring Company, Neuralink, and cash and other investments.
05:14For full coverage, check out the Forbes Wealth Teams piece on Forbes.com.
05:20This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
05:22Thanks for tuning in.
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