Elon Musk is a South African-American multibillionaire businessman and entrepreneur. Over the years, his high-profile involvements in major companies such as PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla have seen him accrue a large amount of wealth, consistently ranking him among the wealthiest people in the world, if not the absolute richest overall. As of December 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth at nearly $430 billion, making him the wealthiest person on Earth, having a worth on par with the 2nd and 3rd richest people on the list – Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison – combined.
In 2022, Musk fully acquired the social media platform Twitter, which he has since renamed X. His acquisition and running of X have sparked both praise and criticism by commentators.
Musk has also been seen as an increasingly divisive figure in recent years over his business decisions and expressed views regarding gender, politics, COVID-19, free speech, and more, with some describing him as a free speech advocate and others accusing him of aiding problematic far-Right voices.
Alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk is currently set to head a new department in the US government known as the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE).
While most Jewish organizations found Musk’s salute offensive, they seemed anxious to move back to their usual agenda of Israel, Hamas, hostages, campus antisemitism, and Iran.
World's richest man appointed as special government employee while maintaining control of SpaceX and Tesla; oversight questions emerge
The conversation began with Musk saying they were working to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Musk hat ein provokantes Wortspiel auf X gepostet: Sätze, in denen er einzelne Wörter durch Namen einflussreicher Nationalsozialisten ersetzte, wie „Sag nicht Hess [statt Yes / Ja] zu Nazi-Vorwürfen.
"South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY," Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Recent years have seen a significant rise in private investments in space, with institutional investors and family offices recognizing the economic and scientific potential of space technologies.
A British Anglican priest lost his position after mimicking Elon Musk's controversial gesture at a major pro-life summit, sparking fierce debate over his intentions and the church's swift response.
President Donald Trump has called on Elon Musk to rescue two NASA astronauts stuck on the International Space Station, with the pair blaming the Biden administration for leaving them 'stranded.'
YouGov found that 73% of Germans and 69% of Brits surveyed found it unacceptable that Musk was trying to influence politics in their nation.
Remembering what can happen if we’re not cognizant of the past and how it came to be will ensure it doesn’t happen again.
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