Elon Musk is the richest man in the world. Photo: Pixabay
Elon Musk, the billionaire who could end world hunger
Elon Musk is close to becoming the world's first trillionaire, and his wealth generates several controversies.
MORE IN THIS SECTION
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Elon Musk is the richest person in the world with a net worth of about $283 billion.
After the Senate proposal to levy higher taxes on billionaires was announced, he said that taxing billionaires would only make a "small dent" in paying down the country's national debt, arguing that the focus should be on government spending.
"Spending is the real problem," Musk said via Twitter in a post that also included a link to an online clock that calculates the country's debt.
US national debt is ~$28,900 billion or ~$229k per taxpayer.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2021
Even taxing all “billionaires” at 100% would only make a small dent in that number, so obviously the rest must come from the general public. This is basic math.
Spending is the real problem.https://t.co/1EwWyqdVsT
Morgan Stanley analysts forecast that Musk, who has made most of his wealth from electric car company Tesla, could make a lot more money from his growing SpaceX space exploration business.
Analyst Adam Jonas said the company, founded in 2002, was "challenging any preconceived notions of what was possible and the time frame possible, in terms of rockets, launch vehicles and supporting infrastructure."
He added: "We've had more than one customer tell us that if Elon Musk were to become the first trillionaire...it wouldn't be because of Tesla."
Regarding this situation, Musk mentioned that with his fortune he is looking to get to Mars.
"My plan is to use the money to take humanity to Mars and preserve the light of consciousness," Musk said on Thursday, Oct. 28.
New tax bill for billionaires
Senate President Ron Wyden unveiled a groundbreaking proposal to tax billionaires on unrealized gains, though it was dropped in negotiations hours later.
Wyden insists that the tax plan for billionaires is not dead, but talks have focused on a possible 3% surcharge, on top of the income tax rate, for those earning more than $10 million.
Under the bill proposed by Senate Democrats, taxpayers earning more than $100 million in annual income or who have at least $1 billion in assets held for three years or more would have to pay billions in taxes.
Musk, in particular, could owe as much as $50 billion in taxes over the next five years, and Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and second on the list of billionaires, would face an equally high tax bill of $44 billion, according to one projection.
Ending world hunger
Adding up all his current assets, Musk could end world hunger if he only allocated 2% of his total wealth, said the UN's executive director for the World Food Program, David Beasley.
Musk, who earns about $36 billion in a single day, wouldn't even need to put off his money if he could get other billionaires to put a tiny fraction of their wealth toward this end.
"Governments are stuffed. This is when billionaires should step up now for once: $6 billion to help 42 million people who are literally going to die if we don't reach them. It's not complicated," David Beasley told CNN.
As the rich in the #US get richer - @WFPChief tells @beckycnn he is asking for $6 #billion to help 42 million people facing starvation.— Connect the World (@CNNConnect) October 26, 2021
To put that into context, that is a 0.36% increase in the net worth of US #billionaires pic.twitter.com/LpG5I5puTC
According to Beasley, there are 42 million people at the emergency level of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
RELATED CONTENT
"I'm all for people making money, but God knows I'm also all for helping people who are in great need right now," Beasley clarified. "People are dying out there."
LEAVE A COMMENT:
Join the discussion! Leave a comment.