Elon Musk is a South African-born entrepreneur who built or transformed companies in electric cars, spaceflight, social media and artificial intelligence. Founder of SpaceX, early investor and CEO of Tesla, owner of X and founder of xAI, he spent 2025 at or near the top of every rich list — and remains one of the most scrutinised business figures in the world.
| Full Name | Elon Reeve Musk |
| Born | 28 June 1971, Pretoria, South Africa |
| Age | 55 (as of 2026) |
| Nationality | South African-born; Canadian and American citizen |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, engineer, investor |
| Known For | Tesla, SpaceX, PayPal, X (formerly Twitter), xAI |
| Net Worth (est.) | About $342 billion on Forbes’ 2025 billionaires list; real-time Forbes estimates passed $400 billion later in 2025 |
Early Life and Education
Musk was born in Pretoria to Maye Musk, a Canadian-born model and dietitian, and Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer. A bookish, inward child, he taught himself computer programming and, at about 12, sold the code for a space-themed video game he had written, Blastar, to a computer magazine. After finishing school he left South Africa for Canada in 1989, attended Queen’s University in Ontario, then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with degrees in physics and economics. He moved to California for a Stanford PhD but quit within days to join the internet boom.
Zip2, PayPal and the First Fortune
In 1995 Musk and his brother Kimbal founded Zip2, which provided online city guides to newspapers; Compaq bought it in 1999 for roughly $307 million, and Musk’s share was about $22 million. He poured most of it into X.com, an online bank that merged with a rival to become PayPal. When eBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion in 2002, Musk — its largest shareholder — received roughly $180 million before tax. Rather than retire at 31, he committed almost everything to two capital-hungry bets: rockets and electric cars.
SpaceX, Tesla and the Empire Grows
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 to cut the cost of spaceflight; after three failed launches it won a NASA contract in 2008 and went on to become the first private company to send astronauts to the International Space Station (2020), while its Starlink satellite network grew into a business in its own right. In 2004 he led Tesla’s first funding round and became chairman; he took over as CEO in 2008, during the financial crisis, and steered it from the Roadster to the mass-market Model 3 and Model Y, which made Tesla the world’s most valuable carmaker. He later co-founded Neuralink and The Boring Company, bought Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion and rebranded it X, and in 2023 founded the AI company xAI, whose chatbot Grok is integrated into X.
Elon Musk Net Worth
Musk’s fortune rests overwhelmingly on his stakes in Tesla (roughly 13 per cent, plus options) and SpaceX, which remains private and was valued in reported 2025 transactions at around $400 billion. Forbes put his net worth at about $342 billion on its 2025 billionaires list — the largest fortune it had recorded — and its real-time tracker carried him above $400 billion later that year as Tesla shares rose. Because almost all of the wealth is shareholdings, the figure swings by tens of billions with the Tesla stock price; all such numbers are Forbes estimates based on public holdings, not audited personal accounts.
Personal Life and Family
Musk became a US citizen in 2002 and now lives in Texas, where both Tesla and SpaceX have major operations. He married author Justine Wilson in 2000; they had six children before divorcing in 2008. He twice married and divorced actress Talulah Riley, and later had three children with the musician Grimes, as well as children with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis — at least a dozen children have been publicly reported in total. He has hosted Saturday Night Live, and his management of X and outspoken online persona keep him in the headlines well beyond business news.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Elon Musk?
He was born on 28 June 1971, making him 55 years old in 2026.
What companies does Elon Musk own or run?
He is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, owner of X (formerly Twitter), and founder of xAI, Neuralink and The Boring Company; he co-founded PayPal earlier in his career.
What is Elon Musk’s net worth?
Forbes estimated about $342 billion on its 2025 billionaires list, with real-time estimates above $400 billion later in 2025 — figures move daily with Tesla’s share price.
Where was Elon Musk born?
In Pretoria, South Africa. He later became a Canadian and then a US citizen (2002).
Related Biographies
Jensen Huang, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman — more in our Entrepreneurs & Founders collection.
Net worth and salary figures are estimates based on publicly available sources and may change over time.
