Photo: TIME Magazine
To honor his sustained efforts to electrify the automotive industry and in space exploration, among others, TIME Magazine has named Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk the 2021 Person of the Year. “The richest man in the world does not own a house,” the accompanying profile states right at the beginning.
Technically, it’s true.
Elon Musk, officially the world’s richest man by estimated worth (meaning, on paper, not in liquidities), no longer has a property in his name. Earlier this year, he completed the sale of his entire real estate portfolio, which rendered him “homeless.” At about the same time, he proudly announced on social media that he was living in Texas, in a prefabricated tiny house called Casita, which cost some $50,000 and was a rental from SpaceX.
A short while later, in an apparent about-face that didn’t even acknowledge his original statement, Musk said that he didn’t “actually” live in a Casita. The Wall Street Journal’s Rob Copeland did some digging around and found out that Musk is residing in a $12 million mansion that also happens to be the most expensive in Austin. That narrative that this billionaire is bumming off in a tiny home like some kind of peasant is just that, the publication underlines: a (tall) tale.
Musk’s actual residence is an 8,000 square-foot (743 square-meter) mansion at the foot of Mount Bonnell, on the Colorado River, in a gated, exclusive community. It recently sold in 2018 for the record price of $12 million, and it currently belongs to PayPal co-founder and former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Ken Howery. It boasts a waterside pool and all the amenities a multi-millionaire has come to regard as “standard.”
In a statement to WSJ, Howery insists that “Elon does not live at my home, he lives in South Texas. He stayed at the house as my guest occasionally when traveling to Austin.” Still, the publication stands by its claim after verifying it with multiple sources: Musk resides in Austin, at his friend’s mansion.
Moreover, he’s on the lookout for a property for himself in the area. Sources claim that Musk has been looking at “trophy property” in Austin, booking several tours as a “mystery buyer.” For a man who has repeatedly said that he has modest, almost spartan tastes, Musk’s reality doesn’t live up to the man-of-the-people narrative, the publication argues.
Copeland has also tweeted about how Musk chooses to stay mum on the topic of the Austin mansion, which predictably caught the eye of his (Musk’s) loyal supporters. One of them points to Copeland that Musk’s “couch-surfing” was a thing way back in 2015. Musk responded, seemingly confirming the fact that he does, indeed, shack up with Howery at the Austin mansion.
Chalk this up to billionaires being billionaires.
Elon Musk, officially the world’s richest man by estimated worth (meaning, on paper, not in liquidities), no longer has a property in his name. Earlier this year, he completed the sale of his entire real estate portfolio, which rendered him “homeless.” At about the same time, he proudly announced on social media that he was living in Texas, in a prefabricated tiny house called Casita, which cost some $50,000 and was a rental from SpaceX.
A short while later, in an apparent about-face that didn’t even acknowledge his original statement, Musk said that he didn’t “actually” live in a Casita. The Wall Street Journal’s Rob Copeland did some digging around and found out that Musk is residing in a $12 million mansion that also happens to be the most expensive in Austin. That narrative that this billionaire is bumming off in a tiny home like some kind of peasant is just that, the publication underlines: a (tall) tale.
Musk’s actual residence is an 8,000 square-foot (743 square-meter) mansion at the foot of Mount Bonnell, on the Colorado River, in a gated, exclusive community. It recently sold in 2018 for the record price of $12 million, and it currently belongs to PayPal co-founder and former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Ken Howery. It boasts a waterside pool and all the amenities a multi-millionaire has come to regard as “standard.”
In a statement to WSJ, Howery insists that “Elon does not live at my home, he lives in South Texas. He stayed at the house as my guest occasionally when traveling to Austin.” Still, the publication stands by its claim after verifying it with multiple sources: Musk resides in Austin, at his friend’s mansion.
Moreover, he’s on the lookout for a property for himself in the area. Sources claim that Musk has been looking at “trophy property” in Austin, booking several tours as a “mystery buyer.” For a man who has repeatedly said that he has modest, almost spartan tastes, Musk’s reality doesn’t live up to the man-of-the-people narrative, the publication argues.
Copeland has also tweeted about how Musk chooses to stay mum on the topic of the Austin mansion, which predictably caught the eye of his (Musk’s) loyal supporters. One of them points to Copeland that Musk’s “couch-surfing” was a thing way back in 2015. Musk responded, seemingly confirming the fact that he does, indeed, shack up with Howery at the Austin mansion.
Chalk this up to billionaires being billionaires.
Yeah, I didn’t have a house in the Bay Area for over a decade, despite spending half the week there
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2021
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