'World's No.1 Billionaire' Elon Musk... Stingy with Donations?

US CNBC "Gates and Buffett Would Have Ranked Higher If They Had Not Donated"

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has emerged as the "world's richest person" with assets larger than the combined wealth of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. However, Musk has faced criticism for being relatively stingy in donations compared to other American billionaires.

According to the billionaire index compiled by the U.S. financial media outlet Bloomberg, as of the 17th (local time), Musk's net worth was recorded at $236 billion (approximately 279 trillion KRW), securing an overwhelming first place among the world's billionaires.

Musk surpassed Jeff Bezos, former CEO of Amazon, who held the title of the world's richest person from 2017 until last January, by a significant margin. Bezos's net worth is known to be around $197 billion (approximately 233 trillion KRW).

This year, the stock prices of Tesla, an electric vehicle company, and SpaceX, a reusable rocket manufacturer, have surged significantly, which is estimated to have increased Musk's net worth. Musk holds a substantial amount of shares in both Tesla and SpaceX.

Musk's assets are reportedly comparable to the combined wealth of Bill Gates, who was once the world's richest person, and the global investor Warren Buffett. Gates ranks 4th globally with $130 billion (approximately 153 trillion KRW), and Buffett ranks 10th with $103 billion (approximately 121 trillion KRW). Their combined net worth totals $233 billion, about $3 billion less than Musk's.

In this context, Musk recently joked on his Twitter account, "Buffett should have invested in Tesla instead of China. Haha."

Bill Gates has been personally running a foundation and continuing his philanthropic activities since 2000. From the left, Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. / Photo by Yonhap News

However, Musk has been criticized for being less generous in donations compared to Gates and Buffett. The U.S. economic media outlet CNBC pointed out that while Gates and Buffett have donated hundreds of billions of dollars over several decades, Musk has shown little activity related to philanthropy.

Gates established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, following the encouragement of his wife Melinda Gates, and has continued charitable donations and research support activities. The Gates Foundation also donated to various research institutes during the COVID-19 crisis last year, supporting the development of vaccines and treatments.

Buffett is also known to have donated a significant portion of his shares to charitable organizations. Recently, he donated about $4.1 billion (approximately 4.86 trillion KRW) and stated in a press release, "Society needs my money, but I do not."

CNBC remarked, "If Gates and Buffett had not donated their wealth, they would still maintain high rankings."

Criticism of Musk's reluctance to engage in philanthropic activities is not new.

In this regard, last January, Musk tweeted, "I always appreciate critical feedback," adding, "Discussions about donation methods that can bring real change in reality are welcome, but making a tangible difference through donations is harder than it looks."