Elon Musk is no longer the wealthiest person in the world. However, he ranks second with a net worth of $198.9 billion, just behind the founder of LVMH Bernard Arnault. With this in mind, we wondered how much money Musk makes in a single second. In this line, let’s dive into his finances with an analytical approach for a more precise estimate.

Elon Musk’s net worth

As of mid-February 2024, Elon Musk’s net worth stands at a staggering $198.9 billion, according to “The World’s Real-Time Billionaires” index by Forbes, reflecting his success in the world of technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Still, over the past year, Musk’s financial standing has witnessed a notable shift, with his net worth dropping from $229 billion to its current figure.

Despite the decrease, Musk remains the second-wealthiest individual globally, with his fortunes closely tied to the performance of his groundbreaking companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX. As a visionary leader and prolific entrepreneur, his net worth serves as a testament to his relentless drive and transformative impact on multiple industries, solidifying his position as a titan of the modern era.

Sources of income

Musk’s wealth stems primarily from his diverse portfolio of companies. As such, we must first delve into each source of income.

According to Tesla’s Form 10-K report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the year 2023, the company made a profit of $17.66 billion thanks to its two operating and reportable segments (automotive and energy generation and storage).

Yet, unlike Tesla, Musk’s other ventures, such as SpaceX, Starlink, X (formerly Twitter), The Boring Company, xAI, and Neuralink are all private companies, which means that they are not required to disclose their finances to the public.

The methodology

To calculate Elon Musk’s earnings per second, we first need to determine his ownership percentage in each company. From what we were able to gather, he owns:

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The next step is to multiply each company’s profit by Musk’s ownership percentage to estimate his share of the profits from each venture. Then, we need to sum up his share of profits from all companies to get his total earnings for 2023, and finally, convert this annual figure to earnings per second to get the result.

How much does Elon Musk make a second?

Elon Musk’s share of 2023 profits by company

• Tesla’s share of profits: Musk’s ownership percentage in Tesla is 20.5%, as per the Schedule 13G filling published February 14th, 2024. Tesla’s profit for 2023 was $17.66 billion. So, Musk’s share of Tesla’s profits is 20.5% of $17.66 billion, which equals $3.6203 billion;

• SpaceX and Starlink’s share of profits: Musk’s ownership percentage in SpaceX is 42% and 54% in Starlink. However, both of their profits for 2023 aren’t confirmed. Thus, we can’t calculate Musk’s share of profits for these two ventures;

• X’s share of profits: It’s estimated that Musk owns 74% of X; however, as it’s a private company, its finances aren’t public. Still, X’s CEO has confirmed that the company is yet to be profitable, and expects it to generate profit in 2024;

• X, The Boring Company, xAI, and Neuralink: Unfortunately, just like for SpaceX, Starlink, and X, the profits for The Boring Company, xAI, and Neuralink for 2023 are also unknown, so we can’t calculate Musk’s share of profits from these ventures. 

All things combined, Musk’s total earnings for 2023 equal $3.6203 billion. With this number, we can continue and calculate total earnings per second. To do so, we need to divide his total earnings for 2023 ($3.6203 billion) by the number of seconds in a year. There are 31,536,000 seconds in a year. Therefore, we can conclude that Elon Musk makes approximately $114.80 per second based on the information provided. This is equal to $6,887 per minute, $413,220 per hour, $9,917,280 per day, and $69,420,960 per week.

Comparison to other billionaires

In the world of billionaires, Elon Musk’s net worth is undoubtedly formidable. However, he faces stiff competition as Bernard Arnault boasts a net worth of $219.1 billion, Jeff Bezos, although not holding the top spot anymore, still commands an impressive $192.5 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg trails behind with a net worth of $166.6 billion.

The bottom line

Elon Musk’s financial prowess is nothing short of remarkable. Despite a dip in net worth from last year, he remains one of the wealthiest individuals globally, largely due to his diverse array of successful ventures. 

Through Tesla’s electrifying innovations, SpaceX’s ambitious space endeavors, and his involvement in various other ventures, Musk continues to leave an indelible mark on the world stage. And when you break down his earnings per second, it’s clear that time is indeed money for this visionary entrepreneur.

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