How Elon Musk become worlds richest person

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From Misfit to Mogul: How Elon Musk Became the World’s Richest Person

Introduction

Elon Musk — the name alone evokes images of space rockets, electric cars, and social media chaos. But the story behind the man who became the world’s richest person is anything but simple. From being bullied in his youth to launching SpaceX rockets and taking over Twitter (now X), Musk’s journey is packed with audacity, brilliance, controversy, and a relentless pursuit of the future.

This is not just a success story. This is a biography of obsession, risk, innovation, and raw ambition. Buckle in as we explore every chapter of Elon Musk’s life — including his early struggles, his multiple romantic affairs, his legal troubles, and the empires he built.

Early Life and Childhood

Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. His father, Errol Musk, was an engineer and entrepreneur. His mother, Maye Musk, was a model and dietitian originally from Canada. Elon was a quiet, awkward child with a genius-level IQ and a relentless curiosity for technology.

At the age of 12, he built and sold a video game called Blastar, showing early signs of entrepreneurial brilliance.

Musk had a rough childhood — not just because of the political instability of apartheid-era South Africa but also because he was frequently bullied in school. He was once thrown down a staircase and beaten so badly he couldn’t breathe and needed surgery.

Leaving South Africa

In 1988, Musk left South Africa at age 17 to avoid military service and seek better opportunities. He first moved to Canada to attend Queen’s University, later transferring to the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. He earned degrees in both physics and economics — a powerful combination that would later become the foundation of his empire.

The First Breakthrough: Zip2

Musk dropped out of a PhD program at Stanford after just two days to pursue the internet boom. In 1996, he co-founded Zip2, a digital city guide, with his brother Kimbal Musk. The company was eventually sold to Compaq in 1999 for $307 million. Musk personally pocketed $22 million from that deal.

The PayPal Revolution

With Zip2 money, Musk founded X.com, an online banking company. This later merged with Confinity, which had a money-transfer service called PayPal. After internal power struggles (including Musk being removed as CEO), PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Musk walked away with $180 million.

And he didn’t buy a yacht or retire.

Instead, he doubled down.

Going Interstellar: SpaceX

In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) with a vision to colonize Mars. The company struggled in the early days, suffering three failed rocket launches, each costing millions. By the time they got to the fourth launch, Musk was nearly broke, having poured his entire PayPal fortune into the company.

The fourth rocket finally succeeded in 2008 — just in time — and NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract, saving the company and putting Musk back in the game.

Today, SpaceX is a dominant force in space, valued at over $180 billion, launching satellites, transporting astronauts, and building the Starship that may one day reach Mars.

The Electric Empire: Tesla

In 2004, Musk joined Tesla Motors, a small electric vehicle startup, as chairman. He didn’t found Tesla (contrary to popular belief), but he quickly became its face and driving force. After ousting the original CEO, he took over and turned Tesla into a multi-billion-dollar giant.

Musk’s vision was bold: make electric vehicles sexy, fast, and practical. Tesla’s success didn’t come overnight. It took years of delays, criticism, lawsuits, and near bankruptcy. But in 2020, Tesla’s market cap surpassed that of all major carmakers, making it the most valuable car company in the world.

Musk doesn’t stop. His ventures include:

  • Neuralink: Building brain-machine interfaces to merge humans with AI.
  • The Boring Company: Creating underground transport tunnels.
  • SolarCity (acquired by Tesla): Focused on solar energy systems.
  • OpenAI (co-founder): Initially helped fund the company behind ChatGPT, although he later distanced himself.

Every move he makes pushes the edge of science fiction into real life.

Becoming the World’s Richest Person

By January 2021, Elon Musk surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest man, thanks to Tesla’s meteoric stock rise and SpaceX’s private valuation. At his peak, Musk’s net worth was estimated at $320+ billion.

He later lost and regained the top spot a few times due to market fluctuations, but Musk has consistently stayed in the top 3 richest people globally.

Musk is a PR rollercoaster. His tweets have moved markets, sparked lawsuits, and even gotten him into trouble with the SEC.

Some major controversies include:

  • “Funding secured” Tweet (2018): Musk tweeted he was taking Tesla private at $420/share, which led to a $40 million fine and SEC lawsuit.
  • Calling a cave rescuer “pedo guy”: He later won the defamation suit, but the moment stained his reputation.
  • Smoking weed on Joe Rogan’s Podcast: This affected Tesla stock and his public image.
  • Union-busting accusations: Musk has been heavily criticized for how Tesla treats workers.
  • Twitter takeover (2022): He bought Twitter for $44 billion, fired the entire executive team, and turned it into X. The platform became chaotic under his leadership, causing advertisers to flee and users to revolt.

While Elon Musk has never gone to jail, his legal troubles have kept him close to the line multiple times. The SEC, labor boards, and global governments have all been in courtrooms with Musk or his companies.

Romantic Life, Affairs & Children

Musk’s love life has been as turbulent as his career. He’s had multiple high-profile relationships:

  • Justine Musk (Wilson) – First wife, married in 2000, divorced in 2008. They had six children, one of whom (Nevada) tragically died of SIDS.
  • Talulah Riley – British actress, married Musk twice (2010–2012 and 2013–2016).
  • Amber Heard – Briefly dated in 2016. Their relationship was highly public and messy.
  • Grimes (Claire Boucher) – The Canadian musician had an on-and-off relationship with Musk. They have three children:
    • X Æ A-12 (nicknamed “X”)
    • Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (“Y”)
    • Techno Mechanicus (nicknamed “Tau”)

As of 2024, Musk is confirmed to have at least 11 children, including twins born to Shivon Zilis, an executive at Neuralink.

Musk’s complex family structure reflects his views on population decline — he has publicly stated he’s “doing his part” to help solve underpopulation.

Personality & Work Ethic

Musk is known for being relentlessly driven. He often works 100+ hour weeks, sleeps in the factory, and demands similar commitment from his teams. He’s been called brilliant, abrasive, visionary, and tyrannical — depending on who you ask.

Despite criticism, few people can deny his impact on the 21st century. He is both a genius entrepreneur and a polarizing figure, often blurring the lines between inspiration and insanity.

The Legacy of Elon Musk

Whether you love him or loathe him, Elon Musk has fundamentally changed the world:

  • He made electric cars desirable.
  • He revived interest in space exploration.
  • He redefined leadership in the tech age.
  • He took unimaginable risks — and won, again and again.

His story isn’t over. With upcoming Mars missions, brain chips, and the fate of social media in his hands, Musk remains at the frontier of human ambition.

Conclusion

Elon Musk didn’t become the world’s richest man by following rules. He broke them, rewrote them, and created new ones. His biography is filled with twists: genius ideas, near collapses, massive comebacks, controversial tweets, and chaotic relationships.

From a bullied kid in South Africa to the richest man in the world, Musk’s life proves one thing: you don’t need to be understood to change the world — you just need to be unstoppable.

Companies Revenue by Year

Below is a clear and informative table charting Elon Musk’s major companies with their annual revenues by year, based on publicly available and estimated data:

Company2022202320242025 Estimate
Tesla, Inc.$81.46 B stockanalysis.com+5macrotrends.net+5companiesmarketcap.com+5$96.77 B$97.69 B~$95.7 B TTM (through Mar 2025)
SpaceX$4.6 B$8.7 B$13.1 B–14.2 B$15.5 B
Tesla Energy——$10.1 B—
Neuralink~ $0.07–0.09 B ($70–90 M)———

🔍 Overview Highlights

  • Tesla Inc.
    • Revenue soared from $81.5B (2022) to $97.7B (2024), thanks to strong electric vehicle sales and growth in energy and storage business macrotrends.net+1wsj.com+1.
    • Through Q1 2025, trailing revenue sits around $95.7B, a slight dip from 2024 .
  • SpaceX
    • Experienced massive growth: $4.6B (2022) → $8.7B (2023) → $13.1–14.2B (2024) .
    • Forecast expects $15.5B in 2025 .
  • Tesla Energy (Solar & Storage)
    • Inside Tesla’s broader revenues, the energy division generated $10.1B in 2024, up 67% YoY en.wikipedia.org.
  • Neuralink
    • As of mid-2025, Neuralink’s annual revenue is estimated between $70M–$90M massdevice.com+5leadiq.com+5semafor.com+5.

📈 Insights & Context

  • Tesla’s revenue growth reflects not just car sales but booming energy storage (Powerwall, Megapack) and solar segments.
  • SpaceX’s explosive rise is fueled by Starlink—accounting for roughly half of revenue—and a steady stream from launch services.
  • Neuralink remains an early-stage biotech venture, showing modest revenue compared to other ventures.
  • The 2025 projections underscore an aggressive upward trend for SpaceX, while Tesla faces market pressure and slight revenue flattening.

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