“The really remarkable thing about Musk is the disjuncture between his enormous public persona, and his very, very small philanthropic presence,” he said. Benjamin Soskis, who studies philanthropy at the Urban Institute. Where other billionaires aim to have a broad social impact, Mr. Soskis said Mr. Musk’s foundation lacks “any direction or any real focus, outside of his business ventures.”
Mr. Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
A school for his children
Mr. Musk and his younger brother, Kimbal, started the Musk Foundation in 2001, a year before the sale of PayPal, the online payments company he founded, to eBay for $1.5 billion. He made more than $175 million in sales, and will build his namesake foundation with about $2 million worth of eBay shares.
The Musk Foundation’s website initially included slick animations, featuring images of satellite dishes and children in classrooms, while encouraging people to apply for grants. In 2005, however, it was scrapped, replaced by simple black text stating that the foundation is interested in “science education, child health and clean energy.”
It has no contact information listed. It’s still this is not.
By September 2014, Forbes it is estimated that the net worth of Mr. Musk is worth more than $10 billion, inflated by the value of his Tesla stock holdings. But he gave little to his own charity. That year, tax filings show, his foundation $40,121 at the bank.
That fits the public stance of Mr. Musk on philanthropy. His for-profit companies, he says, are his way of changing the world.
