Yes, Elon Musk is a U.S. citizen, having become a naturalized citizen in 2002 after moving to the U.S. in 1992 to attend university, though he was born in South Africa and also holds Canadian citizenship. He holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada, in addition to his original South African citizenship.
He was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1971, making him South African by birth. Through his mother, who is originally from Canada, Musk also holds Canadian citizenship. Later, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States, where he built his career as a leading tech entrepreneur.
Born into a wealthy family in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk emigrated in 1989 to Canada; he has Canadian citizenship since his mother was born there. He received bachelor's degrees in 1997 from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, United States, before moving to California to pursue business ventures.
Musk was born in South Africa, obtained Canadian citizenship through his mother and came to the US to study at the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He became a US citizen a decade later, according to biographies of the billionaire.
Musk paid $455 million in taxes on $1.52 billion of income between 2014 and 2018. According to ProPublica, Musk paid no federal income taxes in 2018. He stated his 2021 tax bill was estimated at $12 billion based on his sale of $14 billion worth of Tesla stock.
Taking Advantage of Capital Gains, Not Salary
One of the biggest reasons Bezos pays little in personal income tax is that he doesn't rely on a traditional salary. Instead, he holds most of his wealth in Amazon stock.
Elon Musk has publicly stated he has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, which he disclosed during his 2021 appearance on Saturday Night Live. He described his traits as including taking things literally, struggling with social cues, and finding reward in intense focus, suggesting it aids his work. His comments sparked conversations about autism and how individuals, particularly high-profile ones, experience it.
Elon Musk's "1-Hour Rule" (often called the 5-Hour Rule) is about dedicating at least one focused hour each weekday (five hours a week) to deliberate learning, reading, or deep thinking, without distractions, to foster continuous growth and problem-solving, a practice also attributed to leaders like Bill Gates. This isn't about working harder but thinking deeper, allowing for crucial reflection amidst constant output, with Musk's own experience highlighting how focused, distraction-free time yields better results than hours of unfocused work.
For Elon Musk, the number 42, famously from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, signifies humanity's quest for answers, reminding us that asking the right questions about life, the universe, and our purpose is crucial, especially in space exploration, serving as an inspiration for progress and seeking deeper meaning beyond just technology. He's incorporated it into SpaceX's Starship, symbolizing this ongoing search for meaning and the universe's profound mysteries.
His estimated net worth would be around $499 billion today, when adjusted for inflation. Elon Musk's current wealth, however, is understood to have now eclipsed that of Rockefeller's. On December 29, Forbes estimated Musk's fortune to be $744.6 billion.
If they're an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen—like a spouse, parent, or minor child, the total timeline is usually about five to seven years. This includes the wait for a green card, the residency requirement, and naturalization process.
Rebecca Aizin is an Associate Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has previously appeared on Elle, HGTV and Backstage. Elon Musk has welcomed 14 children over 20 years.
Elon Musk, born in South Africa, became a U.S. citizen in 2002 and also holds Canadian citizenship. He briefly served as a "special" federal employee in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The first means that anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen at birth irrespective of parents' citizenship status. The second means that children born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent may be entitled to U.S. citizenship, if they meet certain statutory requirements.
Elon Musk's Email Address
Contact Elon Musk (Tesla) [email protected] (Tesla) [email protected] (SpaceX) [email protected] (Tesla Media/PR)
Elon Musk generally sleeps around six hours a night, often going to bed around 3 a.m. and waking around 9 a.m., though he's known for extreme periods of sleep deprivation during intense production pushes, sometimes working 120-hour weeks and sleeping just a few hours at a time. While he acknowledges that getting less than six hours causes "brain pain," he's stated he tries to get at least that much for better productivity, despite his history of unhealthy, sleepless work binges.
Elon Musk's 6 Rules for Insane Productivity
"When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favour." This quote encapsulates Musk's approach to leadership: prioritising mission-critical objectives over conventional probability assessments.
Elon Musk said he believes the universe didn't come from nothing and called God “the Creator” during an interview on The Katie Miller Podcast.
In a 2013 interview with The New Yorker, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that he had "a mild form of autism," later clarifying that his condition aligned with Asperger's syndrome.
Dr Darrick Antell, a plastic surgeon in New York City, suggested Musk had a wattlectomy, otherwise known as a neck lift. 'This procedure is designed particularly for men to reduce excess neck skin,' he told DailyMail.com.
High-Income Taxpayers Paid the Majority of Federal Income Taxes. In 2022, the bottom half of taxpayers earned 11.5 percent of total AGI and paid 3 percent of all federal individual income taxes. The top 1 percent earned 22.4 percent of total AGI and paid 40.4 percent of all federal income taxes.
Bezos reportedly drew a salary of only $80,000 annually throughout his tenure as CEO. Bezos described his stance as typical of founder-operators, who often prefer to tie their fortunes to the value of their existing equity rather than through executive pay packages.