On December 30, 2024, Elon Musk's net worth hit $432 billion—making him the first person in history to surpass $400 billion. Some reports claim he briefly touched $500 billion.
The same man was nearly bankrupt in 2008, sleeping on factory floors and deciding which of his companies to let die.
The same man was thrown down stairs and hospitalized by bullies as a child in South Africa.
The same man has 12-13 children with 3 women, has been sued by the SEC, and became one of the most divisive figures in tech.
This is the story of how a bullied kid from Pretoria became the richest person in history—and why half the world loves him while the other half can't stand him.
The Bullied South African Kid (1971-1989)
Elon Reeve Musk was born June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. His father Errol Musk was an electromechanical engineer. His mother Maye was a model and dietitian.
By his own account, his childhood was miserable.
The Brutal Bullying
At Bryanston High School, Musk was small, awkward, and obsessed with reading. He was an easy target.
One incident left him hospitalized: A group of boys threw him down a flight of concrete stairs, then beat him until he lost consciousness. He was hospitalized with injuries and had to have his nose reconstructed.
"I was a really small kid," Musk told Rolling Stone. "Like the smallest kid in the class... And I'd get beaten up all the time."
The "Evil" Father
Worse than the bullies was his father.
After his parents divorced when he was 9, Musk chose to live with his father. He later called it "not a good idea."
When Musk came home from the hospital after the beating, his father screamed at him for an hour, calling him "worthless" and "an idiot" for getting beaten up.
"He would call me an idiot all the time," Musk recalled. "'Why are you so stupid?'"
In a 2017 Rolling Stone interview, Musk said: "He was such a terrible human being... You have no idea. My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil... He will plan evil."
When asked what his father did to him, Musk replied: "Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done."
Musk later described living with his father as "like being in hell."
The Escape Through Books and Code
Musk retreated into books. By age 10, he'd read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.
"I was raised by books," he said. "Books, and then my parents."
At 12, he taught himself computer programming from a manual. At 13, he sold his first software—a space-themed game called "Blastar"—for $500.
At 17, Musk made his escape. He moved to Canada in 1989 to avoid mandatory military service in apartheid South Africa and to eventually get to America.
"I thought America was where great things were possible," he said.
The Zip2 and PayPal Millions (1995-2002)
Zip2: Sleeping at the Office (1995-1999)
After studying at Queen's University in Canada and the University of Pennsylvania, Musk and his brother Kimbal founded Zip2 in 1995—an online business directory and maps service.
They had no money. Musk slept on a couch in the office and showered at the YMCA.
"We just slept in the office," Musk said. "We had one computer. The website was up during the day and I was coding at night."
In 1999, Compaq bought Zip2 for $305 million. Musk personally netted $22 million.
He was 27 and suddenly wealthy. Most people would retire or relax.
Musk invested almost everything into his next venture.
X.com and the PayPal Coup (1999-2002)
In March 1999, Musk founded X.com with $12 million of his Zip2 money. The goal: create an online bank.
X.com merged with Confinity (which had a money-transfer product called PayPal) in 2000. Musk became CEO of the combined company.
Then, in September 2000, while Musk was on his honeymoon with his first wife Justine, the board ousted him as CEO and replaced him with Peter Thiel.
Musk later called it "one of the most painful things I've ever had to deal with."
Despite being removed as CEO, Musk remained the largest shareholder. When eBay bought PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion, Musk received $165 million.
At 31, he had $187 million ($22M from Zip2 + $165M from PayPal).
He could have retired for life. Instead, he invested nearly everything into two of the riskiest industries on Earth: rockets and electric cars.
SpaceX: Four Launches, Three Failures, Hours from Bankruptcy (2002-2008)
In 2002, Musk invested ~$100 million to start Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX).
The goal: Make rockets reusable, reduce space launch costs, and eventually colonize Mars.
Industry experts laughed. Aerospace giants like Boeing and Lockheed Martin dominated the market. Dozens of rocket startups had failed. What made Musk think he could succeed?
The First Three Failures
March 24, 2006: First Falcon 1 launch. The rocket caught fire 25 seconds after liftoff and crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
March 21, 2007: Second Falcon 1 launch. Reached space but failed to achieve orbit due to fuel slosh.
August 3, 2008: Third Falcon 1 launch. Stages collided 2 minutes after liftoff. Total loss.
Three launches. Three failures. $100 million gone.
SpaceX had money for one more launch. If it failed, the company would die.
"I messed up the first three launches," Musk later admitted. "The third flight was like, 'OK, we're going to shut down. We're dead.'"
September 28, 2008: The Fourth Launch That Saved SpaceX
With borrowed money and scavenged parts, SpaceX prepared Falcon 1 Flight 4.
The rocket launched from Kwajalein Atoll. The first stage separated cleanly. The second stage ignited. The payload reached orbit.
Success.
SpaceX became the first privately-funded company to launch a liquid-fueled rocket to orbit.
Six weeks later, NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract to resupply the International Space Station.
SpaceX was saved. Barely.
The Reusable Rocket Revolution (2015-2024)
December 21, 2015: SpaceX successfully landed Falcon 9's first stage for the first time.
The achievement was historic. No one had ever recovered an orbital rocket booster before. Musk had proven reusability was possible.
By 2024:
- 138 SpaceX launches (half of all global orbital launches)
- 533 successful booster landings
- Cost reduction: From tens of thousands per kg to orbit down to $3,059/kg
- One booster flew 31 missions (another flew 24 times)
- Starship development: Fully reusable rocket to enable Mars colonization
SpaceX is now valued at $350+ billion, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world.
Tesla: 2008 Financial Crisis and Near-Death (2004-2010)
Joining Tesla (2004)
In February 2004, Musk invested $6.5 million into Tesla Motors (founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003).
Musk became chairman of the board. He didn't found Tesla, though he fought legally for the right to call himself a co-founder.
The Roadster Budget Explosion
Tesla's first product, the Roadster, was supposed to cost $25 million to develop.
The actual cost: $140 million.
Production delays mounted. The company burned cash. By 2007, Tesla was hemorrhaging money.
Eberhard was ousted as CEO. Musk took over as CEO in October 2008.
December 2008: Hours from Bankruptcy
The 2008 financial crisis devastated everyone, but Tesla was particularly vulnerable.
By December 2008:
- Tesla had weeks of cash left
- SpaceX had just barely survived with its fourth launch
- Musk was divorcing his first wife
- He'd invested everything into Tesla and SpaceX—both companies were near bankruptcy
Musk faced an impossible choice: save Tesla or save SpaceX. He couldn't save both.
He chose to split his last $20 million between the two companies and pray.
On Christmas Eve 2008, investors agreed to fund a $40 million round—saving Tesla literally hours before bankruptcy.
"We were two hours away from bankruptcy," Musk later said. "I put in everything I had—I didn't even own a house at that point."
The Model S and Recovery (2012-2020)
June 22, 2012: Tesla began delivering the Model S sedan.
The car was revolutionary:
- 265-mile range
- 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds
- Over-the-air software updates
- Consumer Reports gave it a 99/100 rating
Tesla survived.
2020: Tesla became the most valuable car company in the world, surpassing Toyota.
2024: Tesla stock reached all-time highs after Trump's election (Musk supported Trump heavily).
Musk's Tesla stake (2024): Worth $145+ billion
The Twitter Disaster: $44 Billion and Chaos (2022-2025)
The $44 Billion Acquisition (October 27, 2022)
In April 2022, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion ($54.20 per share).
He tried to back out. Twitter sued to force the sale. In October 2022, Musk completed the purchase.
Day 1: Musk fired CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and other executives.
Week 1: Musk fired 50% of Twitter's 7,500 employees.
The "Extremely Hardcore" Ultimatum
In November 2022, Musk sent an email to remaining employees:
"Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore. This will mean working long hours at high intensity."
Employees had to click a link to agree or resign with severance.
Thousands resigned immediately, leaving Twitter with a skeleton crew.
The Blue Check Disaster
Musk launched Twitter Blue—verified checkmarks for $8/month.
The result: chaos.
- Fake accounts impersonated brands and celebrities
- Eli Lilly's stock dropped 4%+ after a fake account tweeted "insulin is free now"
- Nintendo, Lockheed Martin, and others were impersonated
- Musk suspended the program after 48 hours
The Rebrand to X (July 2023)
In July 2023, Musk rebranded Twitter to "X."
Brand value loss: Estimated $4-20 billion (the Twitter brand was worth tens of billions)
The Ad Revenue Collapse
Before Musk: $4.5 billion in annual ad revenue After Musk (2023-2024): $2.2 billion Revenue decline: 46.6%
Major advertisers fled:
- General Motors
- United Airlines
- General Mills
- Many others
When advertisers threatened to boycott, Musk told them to "go fuck yourself" at a conference in November 2024.
November 7, 2024: The Mass Exodus
The day after Trump's election, 115,000 users deactivated their accounts in a single day—the largest single-day exodus in Twitter/X history.
Many left for Bluesky and Mastodon, citing Musk's political stance and platforming.
Current Status (2025)
Estimated X value: $10-15 billion (down from $44 billion purchase price) Musk's loss: $25-30 billion
It's one of the worst tech acquisitions in history.
The Multi-Company Empire (2000-2025)
Beyond SpaceX, Tesla, and X, Musk has built or acquired:
Neuralink (2016):
- Brain-computer interface company
- January 28, 2024: First human brain implant successfully allowed patient to control computer with brain
- Valuation: $5+ billion
The Boring Company (2016):
- Tunnel construction for transportation
- Built ~5 miles of tunnels in 6 years (approved for 65 miles)
- Fined $112,000 for safety violations
- Valuation: $5.7 billion
SolarCity (2016):
- Solar energy company founded by Musk's cousins
- Tesla acquired for $2.6 billion (Musk was sued for conflict of interest but won in 2022)
Total Musk Net Worth (End of 2024): $432 billion
- Some reports claim $500 billion peak
- First person ever over $400 billion
- Richest person in history (adjusted for inflation)
The Controversies and Chaos
The "Pedo Guy" Case (2018)
In July 2018, Musk called a British cave rescuer (Vernon Unsworth) "pedo guy" on Twitter after Unsworth criticized Musk's submarine offer during the Thailand cave rescue.
Unsworth sued for $190 million. After a trial, the jury ruled in Musk's favor in under an hour of deliberation.
SEC Battles (2018)
August 7, 2018: Musk tweeted "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured."
The tweet was misleading. The SEC sued.
Settlement:
- Musk and Tesla each fined $20 million ($40 million total)
- Musk forced to resign as Tesla chairman
- Musk's tweets about Tesla must be pre-approved (he's repeatedly violated this)
The Work Culture
Musk demands extreme dedication:
- Lived at Tesla factory for 3 years during Model 3 production
- Expects 80-100 hour work weeks from employees
- Fired 80% of Twitter staff
- "If you don't come to the office, you can't work here" policy
Many former employees call him a "tyrant." Others say he's the best boss they've had.
Personal Life: 12-13 Children with 3 Women
First marriage: Justine Wilson (2000-2008)
- 6 children (first son Nevada died at 10 weeks from SIDS; 5 surviving children via IVF)
Second marriage: Talulah Riley (2010-2012, remarried 2013-2016)
- Married her twice, divorced twice
- No children
Relationship with Grimes (musician): 2018-2022 (on and off)
- 3 children: X Æ A-Xii (son), Exa Dark Sideræl (daughter), Techno Mechanicus (son)
Affair with Shivon Zilis (Neuralink executive):
- Twins born 2021 (revealed in 2022)
- Third child born 2024 (reported but not confirmed)
Total: 12-13 children
Musk has said he's concerned about population decline and believes having many children is his duty.
The Legacy: Genius or Villain?
The Achievements:
- Made electric cars desirable and viable
- Reduced space launch costs by 10x+
- First reusable orbital rockets
- Advanced brain-computer interfaces
- Solar energy adoption
- $432 billion net worth
The Criticisms:
- Toxic work culture
- Twitter/X disaster (lost $25-30B)
- Erratic behavior and tweets
- Political divisiveness (Trump support)
- Child abandonment allegations (from some of his children)
- SEC violations
- Securities fraud (SEC settlement)
The Paradox:
Elon Musk might be the most accomplished entrepreneur in history. He's also one of the most polarizing.
He's saved the American space program. He's also destroyed a beloved social media platform.
He's advanced sustainable energy. He's also treated employees brutally.
He's a visionary. He's also reckless.
From Bullied to Billionaire: What We Learn
Elon Musk's story teaches:
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Trauma can drive achievement: His abusive childhood and bullying shaped his relentless drive
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Risk everything: He invested everything into SpaceX and Tesla when both could have failed
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Accept failure: Three rocket failures didn't stop him; he launched a fourth
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Work obsessively: Sleeping on factory floors isn't healthy, but it built Tesla
-
Controversy doesn't stop success: Despite SEC lawsuits, Twitter disasters, and public criticism, he's the richest person in history
-
Legacy is complicated: You can change the world and still be deeply flawed
The Boy Who Was Thrown Down Stairs
That small, bullied kid in South Africa who was thrown down stairs and called worthless by his father?
He became the richest person in human history.
He built rockets that land themselves.
He made electric cars cool.
He connected people's brains to computers.
And he lost $25+ billion on Twitter while still being worth $432 billion.
Elon Musk is proof that extraordinary success and catastrophic failure can coexist. That trauma can fuel ambition. That genius and chaos are often inseparable.
Love him or hate him, you can't ignore him.
From $0 to $432 billion. From bullied to billionaire. From nearly bankrupt to the richest person in history.
Whatever else he is, Elon Musk is undeniably one of the most remarkable—and controversial—success stories of our time.
