What is Elon Musk’s net worth as he jokes about buying Manchester United?
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is never far from the headlines, with bizarre name choices and space exploration plans.
Manchester United news, exclusives and analysis
His most recent comments involve explaining away a long-running joke about snapping up Premier League side Manchester United from current owners, the Glazer family.
Of course, there was the attempt to purchase Twitter for an eye-watering $44 billion (£34.5 billion) in April 2022 – and the subsequent withdrawal of the hefty bid just months later in July.
Whenever the tech entrepreneur makes the news, or suggests he might make a major purchase, many wonder just how much money Musk is really worth.
Here’s everything you need to know about his wealth.
What is Elon Musk’s net worth?
As founder of Paypal and early investor of Tesla Motors, Forbes estimates Elon Musk’s current net worth to be an astonishing $270 billion (£223 billion) as of August 2022.
This means he could easily buy Manchester United many times over, as it’s valued at around $4.6 billion (£3.7 billion) as of May, according to Forbes.
The American publication reported that Musk’s wealth has seen significant growth over the past two years, as the outspoken businessman was in second place in 2021, but only 31st in 2020.
Fast forward two years and Musk has now pipped Jeff Bezos to the top post – with Amazon founder Bezos being worth a measly $171 billion (around £141 billion) as of April.
In third place on the Billionaires list was the French luxury fashion empire LVMH’s CEO Bernard Arnault.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates places fourth on the list, with a reported net worth (at the time) of $129 billion (£106 billion).
So, where is all that net worth coming from, exactly?
Musk owns around 25% of Tesla but has pledged more than half his stake as collateral for loans, Forbes says. He contributed much of its funding in its early days, and has been CEO since 2008.
Tesla, which focuses on electric vehicles, has seen its value skyrocket as people become more interested in renewable energy. It is now worth more than Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and GM combined.
His rocket company SpaceX is valued at $127 billion (£104 billion), receiving a massive boost in funding following a commercial contract with Nasa.
Musk was the CEO of Paypal when it first kicked off, and has since gone on to found many other companies, including Open AI, Zip2 Neuralink, and The Boring Company.
MORE : Elon Musk clarifies comments claiming he is buying Manchester United from the Glazers
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Share your views in the comments below