As the possibility of Elon Musk becoming the world's first trillionaire approaches, Oxfam, a global organization dedicated to combating inequality, has released a new report, "The Making of a Trillionaire," detailing Tesla's impact on the gap between rich and poor in the United States, which it believes is a key driver of Musk's dramatic increase in wealth.
One of the key drivers of Musk's vast wealth in recent years has been his ownership of Tesla shares. Tesla’s actions profoundly and systematically exacerbated wealth and power inequality in the United States. Oxfam's latest analysis, using its Corporate Inequality Framework, finds that Tesla exacerbates inequality by strategically exploiting tax havens and federal loopholes; maintaining the mere appearance of corporate regulation; adopting a selective approach to labor rights; and using Musk's personal influence over the U.S. government to reduce regulatory scrutiny.
Musk’s wealth growth is by far the largest in the world, thanks in part to Tesla. Oxfam's analysis shows that with $1 trillion, Musk would be able to:
Covers the GDP of the entire country. For example, his net worth would exceed the GDP of a wealthy country like Switzerland, which as of 2024 is $936 billion.
Repay the entire public debt of 31 of the world's poorest countries, which are either in debt crisis or face high debt risks - debt now totals $205 billion - and still retain more than three-quarters of personal wealth.
Giving away $1 billion to each of 1,000 people increased the number of billionaires worldwide by more than 30%, from 3,028 to more than 4,000.
“No one has come so close to accumulating 1 Trillions of dollars in wealth, and Musk’s astonishing wealth is not a result of hard work or talent alone. A large part of his personal wealth is a direct result of a system broken by corporate greed, exploitation and looting. But the problem is not limited to Musk or Tesla, and the problem should not blind us to the oligarchic concentration of power that is dangerously spreading in our economy. It is time to reform our political system to no longer serve billionaires and the companies they control, but to hold them accountable.”
Oxfam noted that even if he reaches the $1 trillion milestone, Musk's unprecedented wealth accumulation will not necessarily end there. In November, a majority of Tesla shareholders approved a staggering compensation package that could generate up to an additional $1 trillion in earnings over the next decade. Musk’s impending status as a trillionaire doesn’t even take into account this compensation package.