Elon Musk, who holds the title of “the richest person in the world,” seems to have not found happiness in it. On Wednesday (February 4th), he suddenly expressed on social media that “money can’t buy happiness,” sparking discussions among netizens.
Undoubtedly, Musk is one of the most successful entrepreneurs globally. His founded space exploration technology company, SpaceX, is well-known worldwide. He is also the CEO of the electric car giant Tesla. In the era of artificial intelligence (AI) booming, Musk founded the AI startup company xAI.
Although Musk’s wealth allows him to pursue dreams of colonizing Mars, effortlessly support over a dozen children, and have the chance to interact with global leaders, all of these seem not to have brought him happiness.
On Wednesday night, Musk posted on the social media platform X, saying, “The one who says ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is absolutely right.” He also accompanied it with a sad emoji. In 2022, he invested about $44 billion to acquire Twitter and renamed it X.
The post has garnered over 100 million views and attracted over 120,000 netizens’ comments. Some netizens asked Musk, “What would make you happy?” Some expressed sympathy for this billionaire and praised Musk for having the courage to share his feelings with the world. Some suggested Musk to engage in religious beliefs, as faith can provide what the world cannot, including money. Some said, “You brought real joy to millions of people around the world. In the most critical moment, you stood up, defended freedom of speech, broke through censorship, and let the conservatives regain their voice. I pray that you can find the happiness and peace you deserve.”
According to information released by Forbes on February 3rd, after SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, Musk became the first person globally with a net worth exceeding $800 billion. Forbes estimates that this deal valued the merged company at up to $1.25 trillion, increasing Musk’s wealth by $84 billion, reaching a record-breaking $852 billion. Far exceeding the world’s second wealthiest Larry Page, co-founder of Google, with approximately $281 billion.
Musk is also poised to become the first trillionaire globally. In November last year, Tesla shareholders approved a performance-based CEO compensation plan that could be valued at up to $1 trillion. The “Informa Connect Academy” report released in 2024 predicted that Musk is likely to become the world’s first trillionaire in 2027.
When it comes to creating wealth, Musk recently shared his experience on the podcast program “People by WTF” with Nikhil Kamath. He said, if you want to create something that brings wealth, you shouldn’t make money itself the goal. Instead, the better approach is to “pursue providing truly useful products and services.”
“If you do this, money will naturally follow, rather than you directly chasing money,” he said.