Is Elon Musk about to give us his best impression of Warren Buffett?
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has teased that he may pledge some of his fortune to good causes, to show he truly believes that technology will create such abundance that money will become irrelevant.
Musk raised the prospect after Nobel economist Daron Acemoglu, responding to Musk’s prediction of a post-wealth world in a recent interview, proposed an “opportunity to put your money where your mouth is.”
“If money won’t matter in 2036, why don’t you pledge to donate your current wealth of approximately $1 trillion to charity no later than 2036,” the veteran MIT professor wrote.
Acemoglu said that doing so would “establish with great credibility” Musk’s belief in the “powers of AI and technology,” and also relieve widespread concern about the “political and social influence of billionaires and trillionaires.”
The post sparked heated debate on X, leading Musk to weigh in a few hours later. “I am actually going to do something along these lines!” he wrote.
Musk hasn’t elaborated on what he’s planning. Tesla, SpaceX, and X didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Pulling from the Buffett playbook
If Musk pledges to give a chunk of his wealth to charity within the next decade or so, he’ll be giving Buffett a run for his money.
Buffett famously co-launched the Giving Pledge in 2010, encouraging other ultra-wealthy people to sign it with him and commit to giving the majority of their wealth to good causes.
The legendary investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO has gifted about 60% of his Berkshire shares — which make up over 99% of his net worth — to the Gates Foundation and four family foundations over the past 16 years.
Buffett announced earlier this month that he plans to donate the rest of his Berkshire shares — worth about $140 billion today — to his family foundations within the next eight years or so, and hopes his three children will distribute all of them to good causes by the end of 2034.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Musk’s net worth stood at $709 billion at Monday’s close, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It briefly crossed $1 trillion last month after SpaceX went public, but the aerospace company’s stock has roughly halved in price from its peak.
If Musk pledges to give even $100 billion to good causes, and follows through on that commitment, he would join the likes of Buffett and Bill Gates in the ranks of history’s greatest philanthropists.
Banking on a future of abundance
Musk has said repeatedly in recent months that advances in AI, energy, and robotics will drive down the cost of everything from food and housing to healthcare and education.
He’s said that “saving for retirement will be irrelevant” if he’s right, and recommended people stop “squirreling money away” if they’re retiring in 10 or 20 years as their nest eggs “won’t matter.”
The serial entrepreneur has also said that government checks will be the “best way” to deal with job losses from AI, as technological progress will make producing goods and services so cheap that paying a “universal high income” won’t cause inflation.
Business Insider has reviewed hundreds of responses to Musk’s comments on X and Facebook, and on personal finance, AI, and Musk-focused subreddits, and has found widespread disbelief in his vision of a world where money has no value.
Pledging to give away a huge sum could be Musk’s way of showing he’s serious, and perhaps convincing others that he’s right.
