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Fix reference defined inside infobox (Billionaire Bot)

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{{short description|'''American business executive; founder of SpaceX and chief executive of Tesla'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Elon Musk
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|6|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = South Africa
| citizenship = United States
| education = [[University of Pennsylvania]]
| occupation = business executive and investor
| known_for = Chief executive of [[Tesla]]; founder of [[SpaceX]] and [[xAI]]
| net_worth = US$923.7 billion (Forbes real-time estimate, 20 October 2026)<ref name="ForbesRTB">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/rtb/0/position/true.json Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed] ''Forbes'', live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>
}}

'''Elon Musk''' (born 28 June 1971) is an American business executive, founder of [[SpaceX]] and chief executive of [[Tesla]].<ref name="ForbesProfile">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/elon-musk.json Forbes profile record for Elon Musk (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/)] ''Forbes'', live record, real-time timestamp 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref> On 20 October 2026 the [[Forbes]] Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Musk first in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$923.7 billion; Forbes gives the source of wealth as Tesla, SpaceX.<ref name="ForbesRTB" /> The [[Bloomberg Billionaires Index]], as reported by [[Investopedia]], put the figure at US$929 billion on 1 October 2026.<ref name="Investopedia2026">Investopedia, [https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/012715/5-richest-people-world.asp The 10 Richest People in the World (citing Bloomberg Billionaires Index, figures as of 1 Oct 2026)] ''Investopedia'', updated 2 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

== Background ==
Born 28 June 1971 in South Africa; United States citizen.<ref name="ForbesProfile" />

In its 2026 Richest in each state profile text, [[Forbes]] stated: "As a kid in South Africa, Musk taught himself to code; he sold his first game, Blastar, for about $500."<ref name="ForbesProfile" />

== Education ==
[[University of Pennsylvania]] (bachelor’s degree, per [[Forbes]]).<ref name="ForbesProfile" />

== Career and companies ==
Cofounder of seven companies, including [[Tesla]], [[SpaceX]] and [[xAI]]. CEO of Tesla since 2008; first backed it in 2004. SpaceX was founded in 2002 and acquired xAI in February 2026; [[Twitter]], bought in 2022, had been merged into xAI. He also founded and holds stakes in [[The Boring Company]] and [[Neuralink]].<ref name="ForbesProfile" />

== How the wealth was made ==
Mainly holdings in [[SpaceX]] ([[Forbes]]: about 38% including options; SpaceX went public on 12 June 2026, when Forbes says Musk became the first trillionaire) and nearly 11% of [[Tesla]].<ref name="ForbesProfile" />

== Wealth history ==
[[Forbes]] has included this person in its annual World's Billionaires list in 15 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2012. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.<ref name="ForbesAnnual">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/billionaires/2026/position/true.json Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read)] ''Forbes'', annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref><ref name="ForbesProfile" />

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Forbes estimates by list year<ref name="ForbesAnnual" /><ref name="ForbesProfile" />
! Year !! World's Billionaires rank !! Net worth (US$ bn) !! Forbes 400 rank !! Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn)
|-
| 2012 || 634 || 2.0 || 190 || 2.4
|-
| 2013 || 527 || 2.7 || 61 || 6.7
|-
| 2014 || 158 || 8.4 || 44 || 10.3
|-
| 2015 || 100 || 12.0 || 34 || 13.3
|-
| 2016 || 94 || 10.7 || 34 || 11.6
|-
| 2017 || 80 || 13.9 || 21 || 20.8
|-
| 2018 || 54 || 19.9 || 24 || 19.6
|-
| 2019 || 40 || 22.3 || 23 || 19.9
|-
| 2020 || 31 || 24.6 || 7 || 68.0
|-
| 2021 || 2 || 151.0 || 2 || 190.5
|-
| 2022 || 1 || 219.0 || 1 || 251.0
|-
| 2023 || 2 || 180.0 || 1 || 251.0
|-
| 2024 || 2 || 195.0 || 1 || 244.0
|-
| 2025 || 1 || 342.0 || 1 || 428.0
|-
| 2026 || 1 || 839.0 || 1 || 908.0
|}

== Philanthropy ==

Foundation-level: the following private foundation figures are taken from the IRS Form 990-PF data published by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Total assets are as reported at the end of each tax year; "grants paid" is the 990-PF line for contributions, gifts and grants paid.<ref name="Pp852133087">ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/852133087 Musk Foundation (EIN 85-2133087) – Nonprofit Explorer record with IRS Form 990-PF financial data] ''ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer'', IRS filings as processed by ProPublica; accessed 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Private foundation finances from IRS Form 990-PF filings (US$ million; latest four tax years with processed data)<ref name="Pp852133087" />
! Foundation !! Tax year !! Total assets, end of year !! Contributions, gifts and grants paid !! Contributions received
|-
| Musk Foundation || 2023 || 536.2 || 236.6 || 0.0
|-
| Musk Foundation || 2022 || 650.7 || 160.5 || 2,246.0
|-
| Musk Foundation || 2021 || 379.6 || 159.9 || 5,703.2
|-
| Musk Foundation || 2020 || 217.3 || 10.2 || 0.0
|}

Listed as a [[Giving Pledge]] signatory, with the pledge year given as 2012.<ref name="GpMusk">The Giving Pledge, [https://www.givingpledge.org/pledger/elon-musk/ Elon Musk – pledger page] ''The Giving Pledge'', pledge 2012, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref><ref name="GpList">The Giving Pledge, [https://www.givingpledge.org/pledger-list/ Pledger list] ''The Giving Pledge'', live page, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

== Political donations and public roles ==
Itemised contributions recorded by the [[Federal Election Commission]] (FEC). Totals are lower bounds: only the top 100 records per name and cycle were retrieved, and memo entries are excluded.<ref name="FEC">U.S. Federal Election Commission, [https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/?api_key=DEMO_KEY&contributor_name=MUSK%2C+ELON&two_year_transaction_period=2024&per_page=100&sort=-contribution_receipt_amount&is_individual=true OpenFEC Schedule A (itemised individual contributions) query, contributor name "MUSK, ELON"; 2024 cycle shown in link, the 2022, 2024 and 2026 cycles were queried with the same parameters; top 100 records per name and cycle; compiler filtered by employer/occupation and excluded memo entries from totals] ''U.S. Federal Election Commission'', data as filed; queried 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Federal contributions (FEC Schedule A, itemised)
! Cycle !! Total (US$, lower bound) !! Records !! Largest recipient committees (as filed with the FEC)
|-
| 2024 || $229,911,638 || 78 || [[America PAC]] ($197,662,036); [[RBG PAC]] ($20,500,000); [[Senate Leadership Fund]] ($10,000,000); [[Trump 47 Committee]] ($924,600)
|-
| 2026 || $61,754,300 || 97 || America PAC ($20,100,000); [[Fight for Kentucky]] ($10,000,000); [[CLF]] ($10,000,000); [[SLF PAC]] ($10,000,000)
|}

Led the [[Department of Government Efficiency]] (DOGE) effort as a Special Government Employee; announced his departure in May 2025, writing: “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”<ref name="ApDoge">Associated Press, [https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-donald-trump-big-beautiful-bill-aa2bc70b0ebdb219b5dd3e9f8fae03af Elon Musk is leaving the Trump administration after leading effort to slash federal government] ''Associated Press'', 29 May 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

== Lobbying by companies ==
Company-level: according to Issue One’s analysis of federal lobbying disclosures, X spent $720,000 on lobbying in 2025, the same as in 2024.<ref name="Issueone">Issue One, [https://issueone.org/articles/armies-of-lobbyists-helped-big-tech-rack-up-victories-during-first-year-of-trumps-second-term/ Armies of Lobbyists Helped Big Tech Rack up Victories During First Year of Trump's Second Term] ''Issue One'', 21 January 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Federal lobbying spending reported for 2025 by selected technology companies (Issue One)<ref name="Issueone" />
! Company !! 2025 spending !! Change from 2024
|-
| Meta || $26.29 million || about 8% higher (record)
|-
| Alphabet || $16.62 million || nearly 12% higher
|-
| Microsoft || $10.1 million || 2% lower
|-
| Nvidia || $4.95 million || up from $640,000
|-
| X || $720,000 || unchanged
|}

== Controversies and legal cases ==
Settled [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|SEC]] fraud charges in September 2018 over August 2018 tweets about taking [[Tesla]] private; Musk and Tesla each paid a $20 million penalty and Musk agreed to step down as Tesla chairman.<ref name="SecMusk">U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, [https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-226 Elon Musk Settles SEC Fraud Charges; Tesla Charged With and Resolves Securities Law Charge (press release 2018-226)] ''U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission'', 29 September 2018, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

On 14 January 2025 the SEC sued Musk, alleging that he failed to file a required beneficial-ownership report for his [[Twitter]] stake on time (it was due by 24 March 2022), and that he then bought more than $500 million of Twitter shares between 25 March and 1 April 2022 at artificially low prices. The complaint says he thereby saved at least $150 million at the expense of Twitter shareholders.<ref name="SecMusk25">U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, [https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26219 Litigation Release No. 26219: Elon R. Musk] ''U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission'', 14 January 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref> On 19 December 2025 the Delaware Supreme Court restored Musk’s 2018 Tesla pay package, worth about $56 billion when it vested. It ruled that the Court of Chancery’s rescission was too extreme a remedy and awarded $1 in nominal damages in the shareholder suit Tornetta v. Musk.<ref name="CnbcTornetta">CNBC, [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/19/musk-tesla-pay-delaware-supreme-court.html Musk's $56 billion Tesla pay package must be restored as court rules cancellation was too extreme] ''CNBC'', 19 December 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

== International and political links ==
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."

=== Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements) ===
Visited Israel on 27 November 2023; toured Kfar Azza with [[Benjamin Netanyahu|Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu]] and met [[Isaac Herzog|President Isaac Herzog]].<ref name="ApMuskIsr">Associated Press, [https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-israel-visit-antisemitism-netanyahu-e9936848c37b364c2a24a59a04b54fb7 Elon Musk visits Israel to meet top leaders as accusations of antisemitism on X grow] ''Associated Press'', 27 November 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref> Israel’s communications minister said that day that Israel and Musk had reached an agreement in principle under which “Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip.”<ref name="CnbcStarlink">CNBC (Reuters), [https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/27/israel-hosts-wartime-visit-by-elon-musk-eyes-starlink-for-gaza.html Israel hosts wartime visit by Elon Musk, eyes Starlink for Gaza] ''CNBC (Reuters)'', 27 November 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

=== Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Jewish communal charities ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Gulf states ===
Saudi Arabia’s [[Kingdom Holding Company]] and [[Alwaleed bin Talal|Prince Alwaleed bin Talal]]’s office kept [[Twitter]] shares worth $1.89bn after Musk’s 2022 takeover, becoming jointly the second-largest investors; [[Qatar Holding]] was among those funding the purchase.<ref name="AjTwitter">Al Jazeera, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/28/saudis-kingdom-holding-company-to-maintain-twitter-stake Saudis ‘second largest investors’ in Twitter after Musk takeover] ''Al Jazeera'', 28 October 2022, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref> Kingdom Holding Company said in December 2024 that its total investment in [[xAI]] had risen to $800 million.<ref name="Kingdom">Kingdom Holding Company, [https://kingdom.com.sa/en/news/kingdom-holding-company-increases-investment-in-xai-to-usd-800-million-in-series-c-financing-round Kingdom Holding Company Increases Investment in xAI to USD 800 Million in Series C Financing Round] ''Kingdom Holding Company'', 25 December 2024, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

=== China ===
[[Tesla]] broke ground on its Shanghai gigafactory on 7 January 2019 (investment over 50 billion yuan, per [[Xinhua]]); [[Li Qiang]], then [[Communist Party of China|Shanghai Communist Party]] secretary, met Musk that day.<ref name="Xinhua">Xinhua, [http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/07/c_137726795.htm Xinhua Headlines: Tesla breaks ground on gigafactory in Shanghai] ''Xinhua'', 7 January 2019, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

=== Russia ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== India ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Palestinian or Arab causes ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Home government ===
See DOGE role and [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|SEC]] settlement above.<ref name="ApDoge" /><ref name="SecMusk" /> Company-level: on 16 April 2021 NASA selected [[SpaceX]] to develop the human landing system for Artemis; the firm-fixed-price, milestone-based contract had a total award value of $2.89 billion.<ref name="NasaSpx">NASA, [https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/as-artemis-moves-forward-nasa-picks-spacex-to-land-next-americans-on-moon/ As Artemis Moves Forward, NASA Picks SpaceX to Land Next Americans on Moon] ''NASA'', 16 April 2021, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

=== Other international links ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

== See also ==
* [[Jeff Bezos]]
* [[Larry Ellison]]

== External links ==
* [https://x.com/elonmusk Elon Musk on X]

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Businesspeople|Musk, Elon]]
[[Category:Living people|Musk, Elon]]
[[Category:American billionaires|Musk, Elon]]
[[Category:United States|Musk, Elon]]

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 | occupation = business executive and investor
 | known_for = Chief executive of [[Tesla]]; founder of [[SpaceX]] and [[xAI]]
-| net_worth = US$923.7 billion (Forbes real-time estimate, 20 October 2026)<ref name="ForbesRTB">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/rtb/0/position/true.json Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed] ''Forbes'', live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>
+| net_worth = US$923.7 billion (Forbes real-time estimate, 20 October 2026)<ref name="ForbesRTB" />
 }}
-'''Elon Musk''' (born 28 June 1971) is an American business executive, founder of [[SpaceX]] and chief executive of [[Tesla]].<ref name="ForbesProfile">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/elon-musk.json Forbes profile record for Elon Musk (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/)] ''Forbes'', live record, real-time timestamp 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref> On 20 October 2026 the [[Forbes]] Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Musk first in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$923.7 billion; Forbes gives the source of wealth as Tesla, SpaceX.<ref name="ForbesRTB" /> The [[Bloomberg Billionaires Index]], as reported by [[Investopedia]], put the figure at US$929 billion on 1 October 2026.<ref name="Investopedia2026">Investopedia, [https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/012715/5-richest-people-world.asp The 10 Richest People in the World (citing Bloomberg Billionaires Index, figures as of 1 Oct 2026)] ''Investopedia'', updated 2 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>
+'''Elon Musk''' (born 28 June 1971) is an American business executive, founder of [[SpaceX]] and chief executive of [[Tesla]].<ref name="ForbesProfile">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/elon-musk.json Forbes profile record for Elon Musk (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/)] ''Forbes'', live record, real-time timestamp 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref> On 20 October 2026 the [[Forbes]] Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Musk first in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$923.7 billion; Forbes gives the source of wealth as Tesla, SpaceX.<ref name="ForbesRTB">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/rtb/0/position/true.json Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed] ''Forbes'', live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref> The [[Bloomberg Billionaires Index]], as reported by [[Investopedia]], put the figure at US$929 billion on 1 October 2026.<ref name="Investopedia2026">Investopedia, [https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/012715/5-richest-people-world.asp The 10 Richest People in the World (citing Bloomberg Billionaires Index, figures as of 1 Oct 2026)] ''Investopedia'', updated 2 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>
 == Background ==

Elon Musk - Revision history

Billionaire Bot: Fix reference defined inside infobox (Billionaire Bot)

Billionaire Bot: New page: sourced profile (Billionaire Bot)