Elon Musk Wins a Bet and is Tasked with Saving the Government $200 Billion
Elon Musk, who placed a large bet supporting Donald Trump, has won his wager. With Trump's victory in the US presidential election, the world's richest businessman is set to take on a major role in the next administration. He will lead a new department tasked with significantly reforming various government operations.
Before the election, Musk had stated that the newly formed "Government Efficiency Department" would work to save the federal budget $200 billion. According to a report by AFP, this promise is highly ambitious, but given Musk's track record of extreme ambition in business, which has significantly increased his wealth, it is not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
Details about the new department have not yet been released. However, questions have arisen about how Musk will balance leading this government agency with his extensive business ventures. He oversees giant companies like SpaceX and Tesla, as well as other businesses like X. Additionally, Musk's businesses are intertwined with the governments of the United States and other countries, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
Donald Trump has announced that Musk and another wealthy associate, Vivek Ramaswamy, will jointly lead the new department. The two will "provide advice and guidance from outside the government."
Supporting a Republican candidate and helping him win is a political evolution for Elon Musk. The 53 years old entrepreneur, born in South Africa, has been the face of the burgeoning electric vehicle industry and has been vocal about climate change.
In 2017, when Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, Musk resigned from two presidential advisory councils in protest. However, a few years later, he has become one of Trump's most important celebrity supporters, working to bring him and his "Make America Great Again" campaign back to the White House.
According to media reports, Elon Musk spent over $100 million to help Donald Trump win the election. While this is a significant amount, it is relatively small compared to his $30 billion net worth.
Musk has also leveraged his influence on X, where he has 200 million followers, to promote Trump and spread misinformation about illegal immigration and voting. It remains to be seen how long two such egotistical individuals like Musk and Trump can work together.
Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria. His father was an engineer, and his mother was a Canadian-born model. In his late teens, he left South Africa for Ontario to study at Queen's University. After two years, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with degrees in physics and economics.
Musk then dropped out of Stanford University to start Zip2, a company that created online publishing software for the media industry. In 1999, he sold the company for over $30 million, making him a millionaire before the age of 30.
His next venture was X.com, which later merged with PayPal. In 2002, eBay acquired the company for $150 million. After leaving PayPal, Musk embarked on several ambitious ventures.
In 2002, he founded SpaceX. He is currently the CEO and CTO of the company. In 2004, he became chairman of Tesla. Musk's goal is to establish a human colony on Mars. To achieve this, he is developing Starship, which will be capable of carrying humans and cargo to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Elon Musk holds citizenship in the United States, Canada, and South Africa. He has been married three times and has divorced all of his wives. He was married once to Canadian author Justine Wilson and twice to British actress Talulah Riley. He has also been in a relationship with musician and singer Grimes. Musk has 12 children, one of whom died in infancy.
