Elon Musk has officially become the world’s first trillionaire. Yet, despite his extraordinary wealth, Musk’s personal living arrangements remain remarkably modest.
His primary residence is a pre-fabricated house in Boca Chica, Texas. The property costs just $50,000 (around ₹47 lakh). He does not own it; he rents it directly from SpaceX. The company’s headquarters sits in the nearby town of Starbase, close to Brownsville, according to Fortune.
Biographer Walter Isaacson describes the interior as a spartan two-bedroom home. Musk reportedly sits at a simple wooden table to make his phone calls. There is little else to speak of in terms of comfort or luxury.
His mother, , recently offered a candid account of her visit to her son. She noted there was no food in the refrigerator. She slept in the garage during her stay. The bathroom contained only a single towel, which she left for Elon.
“I think my parents prepared me for this luxury,” she wrote on X. She was referencing her childhood trips to the Kalahari Desert.
Musk also keeps another pre-fabricated home nearby, used as a guest house. Musk moved to Texas in 2020 and sold most of his California properties shortly afterwards. He did purchase adjacent plots in an upscale area near Austin for around $35 million.
Companies connected to the also own at least three large homes in West Lake Hills. Each property measures between 6,000 and 9,000 square feet and includes a swimming pool.
This pattern of personal austerity alongside professional intensity is not new for Musk. During Tesla’s troubled Model 3 production period, he slept on the factory floor in California. He has always preferred proximity to his work over personal comfort.
SpaceX is currently at another pivotal moment. The company is developing its next-generation Starship V3 rocket. It stands taller than any previous version and can carry up to 100 metric tons. That is nearly three times the payload capacity of the earlier V2.
Starship is central to NASA’s plans for returning astronauts to the moon. It also features in Musk’s ambition to place AI data centres in space. The rocket’s first test flight in May was largely successful.
SpaceX accounted for over 50% of global rocket launches last year. It has around 10,000 Starlink satellites currently in orbit. Revenue grew by more than 30% to $18.7 billion though the company posted a net loss of $4.9 billion. Starlink itself more than doubled its profit to $4.4 billion.
could accumulate even greater wealth if SpaceX hits future milestones. A Mars colony with one million inhabitants could unlock 200 million additional shares. For now, the world’s richest person remains in his modest rented bungalow.
SpaceX IPO
SpaceX completed the largest IPO in history this week. The rocket and satellite company raised $75 billion after offering 555 million shares.
Each share was priced at $135, valuing SpaceX at $1.77 trillion. Shares jumped 20% the following day to $162. Combined with his Tesla holdings and SpaceX options, Musk crossed the trillion-dollar threshold.
