Although his fortune is estimated at more than $837 billion, the lifestyle of Elon Musk often appears completely at odds with the stereotype of the world’s richest man.
According to his mother, Maye Musk, the founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI lives in a relatively modest house worth around $50,000 in Boca Chica, Texas, not far from the SpaceX launch site Starbase. The description of the space where he stays has surprised many — the refrigerator is almost empty, the bathroom contains only a single towel, and the garage is improvised as a place where guests can sleep. According to Maye Musk, she herself spent the night there during a visit to her son.
Musk’s unusual relationship with money is often linked to his earlier life. As a young man, he reportedly tried to live on just one dollar per day, experimenting with how little he could spend. During that period he also worked physically demanding jobs in boiler rooms in order to earn extra money.
That mindset appears to have stayed with him. Despite his enormous wealth, Musk often seems like someone for whom material comfort is not a priority.
The house where he lives in Boca Chica is located very close to the SpaceX complex, allowing him to remain practically within reach of work at all times. The interior is extremely simple: an open space with white kitchen cabinets, a standard refrigerator and stove, a plain dining table, and minimal decoration.
Among the few objects that attract attention are a large rocket sculpture and a Japanese katana sword, while the rest of the interior feels almost ascetic for someone with such immense wealth.
The mathematics behind Musk’s fortune can seem almost surreal. Estimates suggest that one minute of his time is worth around $1.6 million. Yet he appears to spend very little of that wealth on personal comfort. Most of his attention is directed toward the companies he leads and the projects that occupy his mind.
This lifestyle is also consistent with a statement Musk made in 2020, when he wrote that he planned to sell almost all of his possessions and that he would no longer own houses. Soon after, he sold several California properties worth roughly $100 million.
Interestingly, media reports have also suggested that Musk might be planning a large family compound near Austin, Texas, intended for his children and their mothers, although he later denied those claims.
This contradiction only fuels public fascination: on one side stands the image of a man who sleeps on the factory floor and lives with minimal belongings, while on the other stands a fortune that surpasses the economies of entire countries.
Regardless of the size of that fortune, Musk’s lifestyle suggests that luxury is not his priority. What matters far more to him is staying close to rockets, cars, and the ideas he is constantly trying to turn into reality.
