The newly become first trillionaire Elon Musk after SpaceX went public on June 12 and reached a valuation of nearly $2 trillion. Elon Musk gives money to charity, but some experts have raised questions about how his donations are organized and where a lot of the money is spent.
Musk owns about 38% of SpaceX, including stock options. His wealth increased sharply when SpaceX became a public company. Even though he is the world’s richest person, the amount he donates is often small compared to his total fortune.
One of his biggest recent donations was at the end of the year, when he gave about 210,000 Tesla shares worth nearly $100 million to charities that were not publicly named, according to an SEC filing reported by Business Insider.
Elon Musk’s $100 million charity gift
The SEC filing said the donation was connected to “year-end tax planning”. The filing did not reveal which charities received the Tesla shares. The charities that received the shares reportedly indicated they had no immediate plans to sell them. At the time of the donation, Musk’s wealth was estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars, making the $100 million gift only a small fraction of his total fortune, according to Business Insider.
How the Musk Foundation gives money
Apart from direct donations, Musk also gives money through the Musk Foundation, which handles much of his philanthropy. Forbes reported that the Musk Foundation distributed about $474 million to charities during 2024. However, Forbes said that most of that money went to organizations that Musk himself controls.
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Where most of Musk’s charity money went
The largest recipient of Musk Foundation money in 2024 was an organization called The Foundation. The Foundation received about $370 million from the Musk Foundation during 2024. The Foundation was created by Musk in 2021 to build and manage STEM-focused schools and eventually a university in Texas. Forbes reported that the $370 million donation was meant to support school operations and educational programs.
Musk has long shown interest in education and previously opened a nonprofit school called Ad Astra in California for his children and children of SpaceX employees. The new Ad Astra school near SpaceX facilities in Texas was originally planned as a STEM-focused school. However, recent state documents reportedly show the Texas facility currently operates as a licensed childcare program for a small number of children. Musk has not publicly provided major updates about his university plans since 2023.
The second-largest Musk Foundation donation in 2024 was $35 million to Fidelity Charitable, as noted by Forbes. Fidelity Charitable operates donor-advised funds, which allow donors to set aside money for future charitable giving. Money placed in donor-advised funds does not have to be immediately distributed to charities. It remains unclear which final charities may eventually receive that $35 million.
Education, healthcare and housing donations
The third-largest Musk Foundation donation was more than $7 million to Baylor Scott & White Healthcare. The healthcare organization is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in the United States. Forbes said Musk also gave millions of dollars to education, housing, healthcare and disaster-relief organizations during 2024. Some of the major recipients included the X Prize Foundation, Windward School, The Seton Fund, Austin Habitat for Humanity, Digital Harbor Foundation, The University of Texas at Austin and The St. Bernard Project, as per the report by Forbes.
These donations supported causes such as STEM education, affordable housing, healthcare programs, innovation and disaster relief. The Musk Foundation also donated to Jewish organizations including the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles and the European Jewish Association. Forbes noted that these donations came after Musk faced criticism over alleged antisemitic comments on X, accusations that he repeatedly denied. Since 2010, the Musk Foundation has distributed more than $1.1 billion in charitable grants.
Questions over Musk’s charity giving
Even after those donations, the foundation still held assets worth about $14.7 billion. The foundation has faced criticism because it allegedly failed to meet the IRS requirement that private foundations distribute at least 5% of their assets annually. Critics argue that much of Musk’s philanthropy remains concentrated in organizations he controls.
Musk has not publicly responded to some of the recent criticism about how his charitable giving is organized. Besides charity, Musk also spends large amounts on politics. He donated roughly $290 million during the 2024 election cycle, mostly in support of political causes and candidates, according to Politico. Politico also reported that Musk donated another $10 million to two major Republican super PACs at the end of last year. Those political donations are separate from his charitable donations and do not count as charity.
Therefore, Elon Musk does donate hundreds of millions of dollars to charity. However, reports from Forbes show that much of his charitable giving goes through his own foundation and organizations linked to him, leading to ongoing debate about the scale and structure of his philanthropy.
