Elon Musk’s charitable foundation, which is supposed to give away a certain amount of money every year, has been facing some serious issues. Reports say that the foundation hasn’t been giving away as much as it should, according to the IRS rules, and instead, Musk has been sending millions of dollars to other organizations he controls.
The Musk Foundation, which manages a massive $9.5 billion in assets, only gave out $237 million in donations last year. But most of that money went to other nonprofits that Musk is involved with, like The X Prize Foundation and Fidelity Charitable. This is raising some eyebrows because, according to IRS rules, charitable foundations must give away at least 5% of their assets every year. That means the Musk Foundation should have donated around $475 million, but it fell short by $421 million. If Musk doesn’t make up for this shortfall by the end of the year, he could face hefty penalties from the IRS.
Despite this, Musk remains one of the richest people on the planet. In fact, his net worth recently soared past $440 billion after an insider sale of shares in his private company, SpaceX. To put it into perspective, Musk is now worth more than some of the biggest companies in America, including Costco, Home Depot, and Netflix.
This controversy is not the only thing making headlines. Musk has also been making waves in politics, becoming one of the top donors to the Republican Party and aligning himself with President-elect Donald Trump. Musk has even pledged to cut government spending by up to $2 trillion as the head of Trump’s new department, called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
As the year comes to a close, Musk has a decision to make: donate the missing $421 million or risk facing penalties. Meanwhile, his public persona continues to grow, both in the business world and in politics, sparking a lot of conversations about how much power one person can really hold.
