It turns out that the world’s richest man has enough money to distribute a chunk to every person on the planet.
This comes as the news broke that Elon Musk has had a boost in his net worth, with the tech mogul now hoarding a whopping $500 billion.
Musk is expected to one day become the world’s first trillionaire as his wealth continues to grow as the head of Tesla and founder of other ventures, including SpaceX and Neuralink.
But how far would the mogul’s money stretch if split among the 8.1 billion people populating the world? It turns out that artificial intelligence may have the answer.
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When prompted, ChatGPT shed some light, detailing its calculations for the scenario, explaining: “1. Elon Musk’s net worth (as you stated): 500,000,000,000 (500 billion dollars). 2. World population (2025 est.): about 8.1 billion people. 3. Divide net worth by population: 500,000,000,0008,100,000,000 \frac {500,000,000,000} {8,100,000,000} 8,100,000,000500,000,000,000.”
The AI chatbot went on to explain its precise computing, adding: “First, simplify: 500,000,000,000 ÷ 8,100,000,000500,000,000,000 \div 8,100,000,000500,000,000,000 ÷ 8,100,000,000. Remove 1 billion factor from top and bottom: 5008.1 \frac {500} {8.1} 8.1500. Do the division: 500 ÷ 8.1 ≈ 61.73500 \div 8.1 \approx 61.73500 ÷ 8.1 ≈ 61.73.”
So, what was the result? It turns out that, according to ChatGPT, Musk has enough money that, when handed out to every person on Earth, each individual would receive $61.73.
While that isn’t exactly a life-changing amount, other causes could benefit from the serious cash.
With $500 billion, you’d have enough to end extreme poverty across the entire planet, ensuring that all people live above a very low income threshold.
It could also go towards providing climate adaptation in developing countries, with $500 billion covering the costs of building dam systems, flood protection, resilient agriculture, and water infrastructure.
According to AI, the money could also end global hunger and seriously improve food security around the world.
This is because half a trillion could be put towards improving agricultural productivity to ensure there is enough nutritious food to go around and reduce food waste.
ChatGPT continued: “Investing in global health (vaccination, disease surveillance, basic care in low‑income countries) can prevent huge mortality and economic costs.”
An example of this would be “creating and sustaining health systems in many countries costs far less per capita than many other large infrastructure projects; $500 billion could build major capacity.”
Still, while Elon Musk is now well on the way to being the world's first trillionaire, it seems unlikely he's going to give away his entire fortune for the good of the planet.