With Elon Musk winning a shareholder vote at Tesla, hitting certain performance targets, such as growing the company’s market cap to $8.5 trillion over the next decade, would mean the CEO is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire. Yes, you read that right. One with twelve zeroes behind it. I struggle to grasp the idea of one person being worth a trillion dollars, so, just to put it in perspective, I made a list of a few things Elon Musk could do with that money.
- Rebuild Gaza, Ukraine, and Syria and Still Be A Billionaire
At $53 million, Elon Musk could rebuild Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but according to the United Nations, the cost could be up to $70 billion for Gaza alone. In addition to this, Musk could use about $740 billion to reconstruct Ukraine and Syria.
- Save Sudan For 0.0082% of His Current Total Net Worth
As conflicts and famine levels have escalated in Sudan, many families are left without homes and without food. Last February, “The United Nations [called] for $4.1 billion to help stave off famine and assist those who have fled into neighbouring countries.” At this time, Elon Musk is worth about $500 billion, over a 100 times more than what it costs to send aid to Sudan. Spending $4.1 billion on Sudan would hardly make a dent in his net worth.
- Bring All Critically Endangered Species to Endangered Status
There are currently around 10,443 species or organisms on the critically endangered list. Elon Musk could pay $1-2 billion annually to bring them down to endangered status.
- End World Hunger
World hunger is one of the most inhumane and unethical issues that has existed throughout history. Existing primarily in regions across Afro-Eurasia, and even in Latin American countries, malnutrition remains a severe global crisis driven by conflict, climate change, and economic instability. If Elon Musk paid a mere $40 billion annually, he could end world hunger by 2030.
- End Homelessness in the United States
According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, a record of over 771,000 people in the United States experienced homelessness in 2024 alone. Around $20 billion annually could be spent by Musk to end it—less than half of what’s spent on pet care each year.
- End Maternity Deaths in 120 Countries
There are 120 countries, mostly concentrated in the continents of Africa and Asia where poverty and low-income countries are abundant, “which account for 99 per cent of all maternal mortality,” says the United Nations Population Fund. With trained assistance and reliable healthcare unavailable in many of these countries, pregnant women are forced to give birth in their homes and without proper care. By expending $115.5 billion over the next decade, Elon Musk could put a stop to this and prevent families and children from experiencing economic hardships and orphanism.
- Provide Educators in the United States With a Comfortable Life
Despite the fact that teachers are the backbone of the world’s society and success, the average educator gets paid an annual $72,000 salary. To live comfortably in the United States, a single person would need a salary of about $100,000, and a family around $250,000. Suffice to say, teachers are not getting paid enough by the government and the community. In order for teachers to make a livable wage, Musk could pay $315 billion annually to make it happen.
But he won’t.