PayPal co-founder and gemstone heir Elon Musk made waves on Monday when Twitter accepted his supply to purchase the social media firm for $44 billion and take it personal within the title of “free speech.”
Of the world’s 2,668 billionaires, he’s the billionairiest, with an estimated $242.4 billion as of Wednesday morning, according to Forbes. The subsequent closest wealthy individual is considerably far behind him, though nonetheless in possession of an unimaginable sum that might in all probability remedy not less than a few of mankind’s illnesses on a world scale; Jeff Bezos has round $165.1 billion.
Even with that sort of obscene wealth, not everybody thought Musk would be capable of pull off his hostile takeover. Like different megabillionaires, a whole lot of his cash takes the type of illiquid inventory. His unsolicited supply was on considerably shaky floor only a week in the past, till he revealed that he’d secured loans from banks together with Morgan Stanley.
It seems that, when he desires to, the wannabe house explorer can summon the need to spend huge quantities of his cash on what he perceives to be a profit to society: loosening the foundations on what individuals can submit to Twitter.
But Musk has made many presents of assist, and arguably some which are really extra, nicely, useful. While he celebrates the deal that crowns him Twitter’s new lord and savior, here’s a have a look at a few of these different guarantees that haven’t panned out the identical means.
Producing ventilators throughout the COVID-19 disaster
In the horrifying early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Musk promised to ship greater than 1,000 ventilators to hospitals across the nation, saying that Tesla would begin making them.
But CNN reporters discovered that whereas a number of hospitals did obtain shipments from Musk, they did not get ventilators. Instead, hospitals in California have been despatched bi-level optimistic airway stress machines, normally used for individuals with sleep apnea. The machines have restricted use in treating COVID-19. (Regardless, the hospitals contacted by CNN expressed gratitude for the items.)
Donating half his cash to charity
A decade in the past, Musk signed the Giving Pledge, becoming a member of billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in promising to donate not less than 50% of his cash to charity.
At age 50, Musk is comparatively younger, and the Giving Pledge doesn’t put a timeline on when or how billionaires shed their wealth. But as of January 2021, Musk had given away solely about 0.05% of his web value, according to Vox. He earmarked a big chunk of Tesla inventory, $5.7 billion value, for unnamed charities in late 2021, according to Fortune, which identified the huge tax break that comes connected. But it’s unclear whether he has actually given any of that cash away.
In November, when the United Nations responded to Musk’s problem to stipulate a plan for combating world starvation, the worth tag got here to $6.6 billion ― considerably near the earmarked quantity. But it’s nonetheless unclear what Musk means to do with that cash.
He seems to have a bigger plan. Musk tweeted in 2018 that he would promote smaller quantities of Tesla inventory “every few years” however save “major disbursements” for 20 years down the road, when Tesla is in a “steady state.” He’ll use what he accumulates by then to “make life multiplanetary,” splitting his donations equally between Earth and Mars, the place he said he’d like to be buried.
Critics say that whereas going to Mars would possibly sound thrilling, it distracts from the urgent problems going through the Earth attributable to local weather change.
Rescuing that Thai soccer staff
In 2018, Musk infamously offered to help rescue a team of 12 boys in Thailand who had turn into trapped with their coach in a cave solely accessible by underwater passageway. Musk’s concept was to construct a miniature submarine, which he and his staff really fabricated and delivered to the rescue operation in Thailand.
He bought indignant, nevertheless, when the individuals making an attempt to save lots of the boys declined his machine. The rescue chief, Narongsak Osatanakorn, praised the sub as “good and sophisticated,” however stated that “it’s not practical for this mission.” Musk snapped again by casting doubt on Osatanakorn’s experience. A number of days later, when a British diver stated Musk’s concept was nothing greater than “a PR stunt” with “no chance of working,” Musk referred to as the person a “pedo,” finally resulting in a defamation lawsuit. (Musk won.)
Musk tweeted that he had left the submarine in Thailand.
Fixing the town of Flint’s water
“Please consider this a commitment that I will fund fixing the water in any house in Flint that has water contamination above FDA levels,” Musk tweeted in 2018, after the Thailand debacle. “No kidding,” he added.
In 2014, the nation was shocked to study that the ingesting water of the Michigan metropolis, largely populated by individuals of coloration, was poisoned with lead after officers switched to a brand new water provide in an effort to economize.
Mari Copeny, the younger activist nicknamed Little Miss Flint who drew consideration to her metropolis’s water disaster, criticized Musk’s Twitter purchase:
(Copeny raised round $500,000 final yr for a venture that goals to ship water filters to properties across the nation.)
Musk did observe by way of on this promise ― kind of. The billionaire’s basis spent half 1,000,000 {dollars} to put in clear water fountains all through 12 public college buildings in Flint. The fountains have been unveiled in February of this year, after a delay brought on by the pandemic.
