The great wealth of Elon Musk

Elon Musk – founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, co-founder of SolarCity and owner of X (formerly Twitter) – has reached new heights in the annals of wealth. With the most recent estimates of his net worth topping $863 billion, he could become the first trillionaire in history. Yes, I know. Many of you will likely throw up with distaste, while others will call for more taxation and accuse him of not paying his fair share. But I don't have a problem with his incredible wealth status. It is a bit excessive. Well, more than a bit, I suppose. But I find it more of a curiosity than an abomination. Musk needs about $137 billion more, based on the estimate, to reach the trillion-dollar mark as there are 1,000 billion in a trillion. Quite a sum, to be sure, but he has added considerable value to the human race through his multiple companies, otherwise so many people wouldn't toss all that money his way. It's kind of a testament to the belief that there is no shortage of dollars in the world and one only needs to work hard and come up with something badly needed and/or wanted to grab their share. The proverbial saying that no one else is poor because someone else is rich comes to mind. After all, Musk earned his billions versus robbing or taxing it from someone else, as others do. I'm all for letting him keep all he has earned. The "great wealth" incentive is what brings great innovations to market. Things like the smartphone, solar power, automation of all sorts and more recently, artificial intelligence to name but a few mankind-changing creations. Musk's wealth has had absolutely no effect on my ability to earn money, make a living and even to get rich if I work hard and get lucky enough. As if luck has something to do with wealth and yes, I believe some luck is involved in amassing great wealth. And I'm sure Musk has had some good fortune along the way. He has also undoubtedly received some corporate welfare in there somewhere. Nothing moves the people in the ivory towers of Washington more to get them to throw some legislation your way than billions of dollars being tossed about. Everybody wants a piece, and there are many "pieces" in a billion, let alone many billions. Some of those wanting a piece are leeches, crooks or con artists. Others are politicians with their hands out and some are those that don't have any skin in the game at all. They just want a free handout and will go to great lengths to get it. No, I don't have any problem with Musk amassing so many billions, as it doesn't affect me whatsoever. I am neither poorer nor richer because of it. If he gets to a trillion, I'll cheer him on that much the more, as it means he will have continued to add value to the people of this planet and they, in turn, will show their approval by tossing more dollars his way. Like I said, there is no shortage of dollars in the world and Musk has proved it by grabbing on to almost a trillion of them. The fact he has so many of them makes no difference at all to the many of us trying to make money ourselves. I'll let him keep his billions without protest and maybe even cheer him on to make even more if he chooses to. But I won't spend too much time on it or waste my time calling for him to pay his "fair share," whatever that is. For to spend my time worrying about how much money Musk makes only takes time out of my day as I try and catch him. And no, I probably won't even come close to his many billions, but I might make enough for my family by focusing on my situation and not his. This article expresses the opinion of Marc Cuniberti and is not meant as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, nor represents the opinion of any bank, investment firm or RIA, nor this media outlet, its staff, members or underwriters. Mr. Cuniberti holds a BA in Economics with honors, 1979, and California Insurance License #0L34249. His insurance agency is BAP INC. insurance services. Email: news@moneymanagementradio.com.