Elon Musk speaks during a press conference at SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on February 10, 2022.
(Photo : JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave a huge amount to charity late last year, gifting almost $6 billion worth of the company's stock in one of the biggest philanthropic donations in history, as per Stuff. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the richest man in the world donated more than 5 million Tesla shares from November 19 to November 29, 2021.
Based on average prices on the days Musk sold the Tesla securities, his donation was worth a staggering $5.7 billion. Musk's filing does not name the charity that benefited from his donation. His SEC filing also shows an unidentified trust was involved in the blockbuster transaction.
Musk's donation occurred as he sparred with U.S. politicians, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, over issues concerning a proposed wealth tax and inequality. In the weeks leading up to Musk's massive donation, the celebrity CEO suggested that he would sell some stock if the United Nations could prove to him that $6 billion would help solve world hunger. That particular exchange transpired after the head of the UN's World Food Programme called for billionaires such as Musk to "step up" in the fight against world hunger.
Musk donated to charity to avoid paying higher taxes
CNN reported that Musk has an underlying motive regarding his large donation as that huge gift to charity would help reduce the Tesla CEO's tax bill, which, according to him, would be the biggest in the history of the United States. Days before Musk completed a series of stock sales amounting to more than $16 billion, the chief executive of Tesla posted on social media platform Twitter that he would pay more than $11 billion in taxes for 2021.
Much of Musk's riches are tied to Tesla, now the world's most valuable automaker, overtaking auto giant Toyota in July 2020. Tesla made history back in October of last year, joining a select group of companies that have trillion-dollar valuations. The company's market capitalization has dropped since then, though, with Tesla valued at around US$905 billion during the closing on Monday, February 14.
Related Article: Tesla China Posts Impressive Wholesale Figures in January 2022; Starts Year With 59,845 Vehicles
Musk easily beats Bezos in world's richest list
Musk's $5.7 billion donation might be a huge amount, but that still pales in comparison to his total net worth. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk currently has a total fortune of $227.3 billion. He is way ahead of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, who is $47 billion poorer than Musk, reported ABC News.
Musk's foundation has become more active in recent years, promising eight-figure gifts to a city near his South Texas spaceport, issuing a $5 million contribution to two scientists researching COVID-19, as well as organizing a $100 million competition for carbon removal. Before providing funds to those causes, Musk's foundation's largest gifts were given to donor-advised funds. DAFs were created so that money intended for charity can sit in perpetuity.
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