Elon Musk ended last year with one huge deed, as it’s now being reported that the businessman donated 5 million shares of Tesla Inc. to charity, valued at $5.7 billion USD.
According to Financial Post, this is one of the “largest philanthropic donations in history.” A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows that Musk donated the shares prior to the holidays from November 19th to 29th. It hasn’t been publicized what charity Musk transferred the shares to; rather, the filing refers only to an unidentified trust.
As the outlet points out, Musk made the donation around the time he was in the news for criticizing the Democratic party’s idea to introduce a new wealth tax on billionaires.
Shortly after, Musk made waves for challenging the United Nation’s suggestion that billionaires step up on a “one-time basis” to help end world hunger, suggesting that such a large financial contribution would still not end starvation.
Musk even released a tweet starting that, if the UN could prove $6 billion would end world hunger, he would donate that exact amount in Tesla stock to charitable efforts.
Elon Musk – known for co-founding car manufacturer Tesla and rocket company Space X – is widely regarded as the world’s richest man. As of this month, he has a reported net worth of $224 million, and is reportedly the only man to amass such a fortune. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon Inc., is the second richest man in the world, coming closely behind Musk at $178 million.
It’s unclear if Musk made the generous donation in response to calls for the wealthy to help combat poverty.
Some reports suggest that there could also be personal motivation at play, as a charitable donation can help reduce the billionaire’s tax bill. Some sources suggest Musk’s federal income tax may have been in the ballpark of $11 billion, which his reportedly the highest amount anyone has ever paid.
This isn’t the first time Musk has caused a buzz for offboarding a large sum. In 2020, the billionaire took to Twitter to reveal his plans to sell all of his houses in order to “unburden” himself. Some reports say the surprising move was to “boost liquidity in his finances,” whereas other suggest it will help come tax season.
But with over $200 billion to his name, the financial decisions are hardly motivated by a need for more funds, even if he does have an $11 billion tax bill from last year.
Sources: Financial Post, Washington Post, CBC, CNN,
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