When discussing the wealth of a billionaire, it appears ordinary until we scrutinize their daily, hourly, and per-second earnings. Some affluent individuals earn thousands daily, but then there’s Elon Musk.
Based on his massive current net worth growth, approximations reveal the tech magnate’s average daily earnings at $60.65 million, which translates to $2.527 million per hour. Continuing with the calculations, you can guess how much money Musk makes in a second.
Before we explore further for insights into Musk’s net worth, daily earnings, and the methodology behind the estimate, let’s throw some light on his career and successful ventures.
Musk’s Career
Elon Musk’s journey began in childhood, showcasing early computer programming skills and a keen business sense. At 12, he sold his BASIC-based video game, Blastar, for $500. Eager for more opportunities, Musk secured a Canadian passport with his Canadian mother, which facilitated his move to the US. Dodging South Africa’s compulsory military service due to opposition to Apartheid, he landed in Canada, where he worked odd jobs before attending Queen’s University. However, he eventually transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Physics and Economics, shaping his path toward entrepreneurial greatness.
Musk’s Success Story
Zip2
Elon Musk’s initial venture, Zip2, a tech company, faced challenges licensing its maps and directories to publishers. Initially charging businesses for directory inclusion, Zip2 later secured contracts with major newspapers like the New York Times. Despite a proposed merger with CitySearch, Musk opposed and persuaded the board against it. Ultimately, Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in 1999, with Musk holding a 7% stake, earning him approximately $20 million.
X.com
Elon Musk’s venture after Zip2 was the financial services provider X.com, established in 1999. Initially an online bank with FDIC insurance, it rapidly amassed over 200,000 users. Shortly after launch, X.com merged with Confinity Inc., its main rival, but retained the name. Musk, the largest shareholder, became CEO, but his leadership was marked by controversial decisions, like insisting on Microsoft software over Unix. This choice caused internal discord, leading to technical issues that exposed Musk’s leadership shortcomings.
Consequently, the board ousted him in September 2000, replacing him with Peter Thiel. X.com rebranded as PayPal under Thiel’s guidance, focusing on online money transfers. In 2002, eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion, yielding Musk over $150 million from his estimated 11.7% share.
SpaceX
After leaving X.com, Elon Musk looked into space exploration and technology investment. Joining the non-profit Mars Society fueled his passion for a human Mars mission. In 2002, Musk used his earnings to establish SpaceX, focusing on affordable rockets and eventual Mars missions. Despite initial setbacks, SpaceX’s Falcon 1 reached Earth’s orbit in 2008, catching NASA’s attention. Elon secured a contract to resupply the International Space Station with Falcon 9. SpaceX’s milestones include the first commercial spacecraft at the ISS, launching the first human-crewed spacecraft, developing Falcon Heavy, and creating Starlink satellites for global internet coverage. Under Musk’s leadership, SpaceX transformed into a revolutionary force in space exploration, achieving feats that once seemed unattainable.
Tesla, Inc.
Marin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning founded Tesla Motors in 2003, with Elon Musk later joining as the main shareholder and chairman. Under Musk’s leadership as CEO from 2008, Tesla thrived, selling 2,000 Roadsters in two years and raising $226 million through a public offering. The funds fueled the launch of Model S, X, Y, 3, and the Cybertruck. Tesla’s global success is marked by Gigafactories in Nevada, Texas, New York, Berlin, and Shanghai, making it a leading EV brand.
Elon Musk became a Twitter user in 2009 and soon amassed millions of followers. He gained influence by impacting market trends with his tweets, particularly about Tesla. In January 2022, he began buying Twitter shares and became its largest shareholder by April. Musk secured a board seat and eventually offered to buy the company for $43 billion. After a reluctant board accepted a $44 billion offer, Musk officially became Twitter’s CEO on October 27, 2022, subsequently laying off around half of its employees.
Elon Musk also explores other ventures, such as The Boring Company, focused on constructing a hyperloop for urban transportation. Additionally, he possesses Neuralink, a venture aiming to develop implants connecting individuals’ brains to computers.
How Did We Estimate Elon Musk’s Daily Earnings?
Determining the daily income of an individual like Elon Musk proves to be a complex task, given the SpaceX founder’s unconventional compensation structure—void of a standard salary and dependent on stock market fluctuations, resulting in potential gains or losses within a day. Examining Musk’s earnings trajectory over the last decade, he achieved billionaire status in 2012 with a $2 billion net worth. In ten years, he ascended to the pinnacle of the global wealth hierarchy, currently holding a $224 billion net worth as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (November 22, 2023).
Extrapolating from available data, Musk accrued an average of $221.4 billion, translating to an annual income of $22.14 billion, $1.845 billion monthly, and $60.65 million daily over the decade (assuming 365 working days per year).
It’s crucial to acknowledge the estimation nature of this data, as Musk’s financial status, highlighted by his entry into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2022 due to a substantial $182 billion wealth decline, suggests a net worth of approximately $140 billion in January 2023.
How Much Elon Musk Makes in an Hour and a Second?
Elon Musk’s financial gains are intricately tied to his stakes in invested companies, creating an assumption of continuous earnings. To break down his estimated daily income of $60.65 million evenly across 24 hours, Musk earns around $2.527 million per hour and $702 every second.
My Final Thoughts
Elon Musk holds the title of the wealthiest individual globally, and his fortune is poised to expand further through his lucrative ventures. The daily or even second fluctuations in his potential earnings occur at a pace matching the rapidity of a blink.
