A report by the charity Oxfam said that the wealth of the five richest people in the world has increased by 114%, to $869 billion, since 2020. That means that every hour, the wealth of the five people, on average, This increased by 14 million USD.

In particular, billionaire Elon Musk’s assets increased to 245.5 billion USD by the end of November 2023, an increase of 737% compared to March 2020.

Meanwhile, according to Forbes, as of January 2024 (two months after Oxfam’s milestone), Mr. Elon Musk’s asset value has decreased slightly compared to the figure given by Oxfam. The reason is said to be because of Tesla.

Elon Musk’s fortune goes up and down with Tesla

Elon Musk’s wealth is largely tied to the performance of the companies he owns, especially Tesla. This company accounts for more than 80% of Elon Musk’s net worth.

The decline in Tesla stock price is said to come from a series of negative news: Electric vehicles continue to fall in price in China, eroding profits, labor costs are rising, demand for electric vehicles is growing slowly again, especially in the US – Photo: Investopedia

Tesla’s stock price has fluctuated significantly over the past few years, reaching a peak of $1,200/share in November 2021 and falling to $400/share in January 2024. In just the first two weeks of 2024, Tesla lost more than $94 billion in market value.

This means that Mr. Musk’s net worth changes significantly depending on market conditions and investor sentiment. Elon Musk has more money than the GDP of some country(s)

However, overall, Elon Musk continues to be the richest person in the world, owning more assets than the GDP of many countries (according to IMF estimates in 2023) such as Hungary (222.2 billion USD), Algeria (239.21 billion USD)…

According to Oxfam calculations, if Elon Musk decided to spend at a rate of 1 million USD/day, it would take him 673 years to spend all his assets. This is 6 times the average human lifespan.

However, Elon Musk is not a billionaire famous for his lavish spending habits. He prefers investing in projects rather than making personal purchases. Sometimes he spent money on expensive things, but didn’t stick with them for long and quickly sold them to invest.

For example, Elon Musk once owned 5 expensive houses, but sold them in 2020-2022 to get investment money. He lives in a rented house and declares that he has no intention of owning a house anymore.

Elon Musk considers money a tool to achieve his goals – Photo: Business Insider

Recently, the house he lived in was revealed. It’s the Boxabl Casita, a 375 square meter house with a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. This is a type of prefabricated house. Boxabl packed parts of the house into large boxes, then transported them to the buyer’s lot and assembled the complete house there.

In Elon Musk’s case, it was a place near the SpaceX spacecraft launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.

With a starting price of 49,500 USD, which is only equivalent to a Mercedes-Benz C-Class (US price), Boxabl Casita is essentially a type of house aimed at people with low to moderate incomes.

Walter Isaacson, biographer of Elon Musk, reveals a part of the house of the richest man in the world – Photo: Walter Isaacson/X

Elon Musk’s biggest expenses are investments and private aircraft. Some of his famous investments include electric vehicle company Tesla, space company SpaceX, social network Twitter, and transportation problem-solving business The Boring Company. These investments, especially Tesla, have turned a profit for Musk’s fortune.

Sometimes, he also spends money on strange items, such as James Bond’s submarine car in “The Spy Who Loved Me”, or a flamethrower.