Elon Musk Promises to Give Away Half His Fortune to Charity

Elon Musk. (Creative Commons License).

Many people have one problem with billionaires; they feel these ultra-rich people do not donate enough to charity and philanthropy. While it is debatable whether this smacks of entitlement or not, it is interesting to see how Elon Musk, the wealthiest person alive, is doing in this regard.

Musk is a billionaire thanks in most part to his shares in Tesla and SpaceX. Remarkably, Musk does not publicly live a luxurious life, save for a private jet. As at the time of this publication, Musk lives in a modest made-to-order home. He even remarked on Twitter that the amount he spends on himself is low, although that would be in comparison to other billionaires.

Despite his vocal stance on many issues, Musk’s private life is not out there, including his donations and philanthropic efforts. However, 2021 has seen the Tesla CEO making multiple donations to different causes.

For example, Musk announced a contest for climate control. The winner will get $100 million as a cash prize. This support is not surprising, given that Musk’s lifelong goal is to reduce environmental pollution.

However, even before 2021, Musk has been exceedingly generous with his money. In 2012, he signed the Giving Pledge, which is a promise to give at least half of his fortune away in his lifetime.

While considering Musk’s acts of giving, it is important to remember he is a cash-poor billionaire, as his wealth is tied up in stocks, and he receives no salary.

Musk established the Musk Foundation in 2002, and he has used it to donate millions of dollars to date. But since the nature of the foundation does not require it to publish details of the donations it makes, it is impossible to get an accurate tally of money disbursed. However, a spokesman told Forbes more than $75 million has gone to two donor-advised funds.

However, even before 2021, Musk has been exceedingly generous with his money. In 2012, he signed the Giving Pledge, which is a promise to give at least half of his fortune away in his lifetime.

The foundation has made many other donations, including an experimental private school on SpaceX facilities, Musk’s children attended, and $10 million to YC Org for furthering scientific research that will benefit humanity in general. Musk has donated to his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, the Wikimedia Foundation (of Wikipedia fame), and Kitchen Community that aims to make nutritious foods available to kids by planting school gardens.

More recently, after the successful launch of private astronauts by SpaceX, Musk pledged to donate $50 million to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The funds will go to finding cures for kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.