Elon Musk – Biography, Net Worth and Family Overview
Elon Musk is a South African-born entrepreneur, engineer, and business executive best known as the founder or cofounder of companies including SpaceX, Tesla, X.com/PayPal, Neuralink, The Boring Company, and xAI. Biography.com traces his public career from early internet ventures to his current roles in aerospace, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence.
Between 2025 and 2026, Musk remained one of the world’s richest people. Reported net worth estimates ranged from about $393 billion to $823 billion, depending on the ranking, the method used, and the date of the calculation.
The strongest accounts of his life come from established biographical references, while financial and family details continue to shift as new information becomes public.
Who Is Elon Musk? Biography and Background
- Full Name: Elon Reeve Musk
- Born: June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa
- Reported Net Worth: About $393 billion to $823 billion (2025–2026 estimates vary by source and date)
- Known For: CEO of Tesla and SpaceX; founder or cofounder of Neuralink, The Boring Company, xAI, and X (formerly Twitter)
- Musk’s wealth is closely tied to the value of his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX.
- He has been married three times to two women: Justine Wilson and Talulah Riley.
- Published reports place his number of children at 13 or 14, depending on the source.
- His father, Errol Musk, is a South African engineer; his mother, Maye Musk, is a Canadian model and dietitian.
- He moved his primary residence from California to Texas in 2021.
- He acquired Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X.
- He led the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for four months before stepping down in May 2025.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Elon Reeve Musk |
| Date of birth | |
| Birthplace | Pretoria, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African-born; Canadian and American |
| Occupation | Businessman, engineer, investor |
| Known for | SpaceX, Tesla, X, xAI, Neuralink, The Boring Company |
| Reported net worth | About $393 billion (2025) to $823 billion (August 2026), depending on the source |
| Children | 13 to 14 publicly reported, depending on the source |
| Marriages | Justine Wilson (2000–2008); Talulah Riley (2010–2012; 2013–2016) |
| Early ventures | Zip2; X.com, later PayPal |
Some biographical accounts note that Musk grew up during apartheid-era South Africa (The Inner Heal). He later became a Canadian and American citizen, according to biographical entries that trace his nationality.
What Is Elon Musk’s Net Worth in 2025 and 2026?
Musk’s net worth comes from several trackers, and the number moves constantly. The differences between published estimates reflect the rapid movement of his holdings, especially Tesla and SpaceX.
Britannica’s profile put his wealth near $393 billion in 2025 and described him as the world’s richest person that year. Wikipedia’s summary of Forbes and Bloomberg data listed his net worth at about $823 billion as of August 8, 2026.
What Is Elon Musk’s Net Worth Today?
Wikipedia attributes most of that wealth to ownership stakes of roughly 42% of SpaceX and 20% of Tesla. Financial trackers such as Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index monitor those changes in real time, while Forbes tracks his fortune separately.
Is Elon Musk the Richest Person in the World?
Musk has frequently appeared at or near the top of billionaires rankings. Britannica identified him as the world’s richest person in 2025. The BBC’s 2026 reporting described him as the first trillionaire. Those positions depend on the day’s stock prices and on which assets the ranking includes.
Where Does His Wealth Come From?
Most of Musk’s wealth is held as equity in SpaceX and Tesla, according to Wikipedia. Because the value of Tesla shares changes daily and SpaceX is periodically revalued, his total wealth moves quickly.
Reported estimates of Musk’s wealth are time-sensitive. They depend on the valuation method, the date of the calculation, and the latest movements in Tesla and SpaceX. The figures cited here range from about $393 billion to $823 billion because the underlying data changes quickly.
Elon Musk’s Family: Wife, Children, and Parents
Who Are Elon Musk’s Parents?
Elon Musk was born to Errol Musk, a South African engineer, and Maye Musk (née Haldeman), a Canadian model and dietitian. EBSCO’s biography starter identifies both parents and notes that he grew up in South Africa. He is one of three children in his parents’ family; his siblings are Kimbal Musk and Tosca Musk, according to Wikipedia’s biographical entry.
Who Is Errol Musk?
Errol Musk is Elon’s father. Public profiles describe him as a controversial figure, though the established record contains limited detail about those claims. Britannica notes that Elon was raised by a South African father and a Canadian mother.
Who Has Elon Musk Married?
Musk has been married three times to two women. He married author Justine Wilson in 2000; they divorced in 2008. He married actress Talulah Riley in 2010, divorced in 2012, remarried in 2013, and divorced again in 2016.
How Many Children Does Elon Musk Have?
Sources differ on the exact total. Biography.com counts 13 living children and lists their names, including Nevada, Vivian, Griffin, Kai, Saxon, Damian, X Æ A-Xii, Strider, Azure, Exa, Techno, Arcadia, Seldon, and R.S.C. BBC’s 2026 report counts 14 children, including children with Justine Wilson, Grimes, Shivon Zilis, and Ashley St. Clair. Wikipedia says Grimes and Musk have three children, born in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Because the sources disagree, the safest current reading is that Musk has at least 14 children reported publicly by mid-2026, with the total depending on whether sources count all living children and how they handle later disclosures.
Biographical databases and news organizations do not yet agree on the number of Musk’s children. Biography.com counts 13 living children, while the BBC reports 14. The difference depends on whether later disclosures and all publicly acknowledged children are included in the total.
What Companies Does Elon Musk Own?
How Did Elon Musk Start His Career?
Musk began entrepreneurial work in the 1990s with Zip2 and X.com. Zip2 was later sold to Compaq, and X.com eventually became PayPal. Biographical profiles such as Mounar’s overview document that early period.
What Are His Main Companies Today?
Musk is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX (Tesla corporate bio; SpaceX). He also founded Neuralink, The Boring Company, and xAI, and in 2022 he acquired Twitter, renaming it X.
Britannica adds that he led the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for four months, stepping down in May 2025.
For biographical basics, Britannica, Biography.com, and EBSCO provide the strongest grounding. Official company pages, such as Tesla’s bio of Musk, cover only his role at that company and do not address personal life or other ventures.
What Are the Key Milestones in Elon Musk’s Life?
- 1971: Born in Pretoria, South Africa.
- 1995: Moves to Canada, then to the United States.
- 1999: Zip2, his first major venture, is sold to Compaq.
- 2002: PayPal, created from his earlier company X.com, is sold to eBay.
- 2004: Becomes CEO of Tesla Motors.
- 2008: SpaceX achieves its first successful launch.
- 2020: Becomes the world’s richest person.
- 2021: Relocates his primary residence to Texas.
- 2022: Acquires Twitter, later renamed X.
- 2025: Multiple new children publicly acknowledged.
Sources: Biography.com; Britannica; Wikipedia; BBC.
What Do We Know for Certain About Elon Musk?
Some facts about Musk are firmly established across public records. Others remain unresolved, mainly because his wealth moves with financial markets and because parts of his personal life have only emerged through legal filings or social media posts.
| Established information | Information that remains unclear |
|---|---|
|
|
A similar mix of verified reporting and unresolved questions appears in John McAfee – Death Cause Net Worth and Conspiracy Theories.
Why Does Elon Musk’s Influence Extend Beyond Business?
Musk’s influence spans several industries at once: automotive, aerospace, artificial intelligence, and social media. He is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, founder of xAI, and owner of X, which gives him a footprint across multiple parts of the modern technology economy.
His net worth is almost entirely tied to equity in Tesla and SpaceX, which makes it volatile from one trading session to the next. His family life is complex and often subject to public scrutiny, with some details emerging only through legal filings or social media posts.
Where Do the Most Reliable Facts About Elon Musk Come From?
For biographical basics, Britannica, Biography.com, and EBSCO provide the strongest grounding. The most current net worth figures come from Wikipedia’s summary of Forbes and Bloomberg updates and from the BBC’s 2026 reporting, though those numbers should be read as time-sensitive.
Britannica estimated Elon Musk’s net worth at about $393 billion in 2025 and named him the world’s richest person that year.
Britannica
BBC reporting in 2026 described Musk as the world’s first trillionaire.
BBC
For family details, the record is less settled. Biography.com and the BBC give different totals for Musk’s children, and those totals may change as further public disclosures appear.
What Is the Takeaway on Elon Musk’s Life and Wealth?
Musk’s biography is well documented in its essentials: birth in Pretoria in 1971, early work with Zip2 and PayPal, and leadership at SpaceX and Tesla. His wealth is substantial but volatile, with estimates ranging from about $393 billion to $823 billion between 2025 and 2026. His family situation is the least settled part of the public record, with reports counting 13 or 14 children. His career also belongs to a longer history of engineering innovation, which is why profiles such as the Wright Brothers – Pioneers of Powered Flight help place his achievements in context.
What Do People Most Often Ask About Elon Musk?
What is Elon Musk’s real name?
Elon Reeve Musk. He was born on June 28, 1971, and is widely known by his shortened name, Elon Musk.
Why is Elon Musk famous?
He is known for founding or cofounding SpaceX, Tesla (as CEO), Neuralink, The Boring Company, and xAI, and for acquiring Twitter in 2022 and renaming it X.
Is Elon Musk married?
No current marriage is documented in public records. He was married to Justine Wilson from 2000 to 2008 and to Talulah Riley from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2013 to 2016.
Does Elon Musk have a girlfriend?
His current relationship status is not fully disclosed in public records. Public reporting confirms past relationships but does not verify a current partner.
How many companies does Elon Musk own?
He is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and founded or cofounded Neuralink, The Boring Company, xAI, and X.com (later PayPal). He also owns X, formerly Twitter.
What is Elon Musk’s IQ?
No verified IQ score appears in public records. Online estimates are not based on documented testing and should not be treated as fact.
Where was Elon Musk born?
Pretoria, South Africa, on June 28, 1971. He later became a Canadian and an American citizen.
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