The Musk Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Elon Musk.[1][2] It was founded in 2001,[3][4] whose stated purpose is to: provide solar-power energy systems in disaster areas; support research, development, and advocacy (for interests including human space exploration, pediatrics, renewable energy and "safe artificial intelligence"); and support science and engineering educational efforts.[5]

As of 2020, the foundation has made 350 donations. Around half of them were made to scientific research or education nonprofits. Notable beneficiaries include the Wikimedia Foundation, his alma mater the University of Pennsylvania, and his brother Kimbal's nonprofit Big Green.[6] From 2002 to 2018, the foundation gave $25 million directly to nonprofit organizations, nearly half of which went to Musk's OpenAI,[7] which was a nonprofit at the time.[8] The Foundation also allocated $100 million of donations to be used to establish a new higher education university in Texas.[9]

History

In 2012, Musk took the Giving Pledge, thereby committing to give the majority of his wealth to charitable causes either during his lifetime or in his will.[10] He has endowed prizes at the X Prize Foundation, including $100 million to reward improved carbon capture technology.[11]

Vox said "the Musk Foundation is almost entertaining in its simplicity and yet is strikingly opaque", noting that its website was only 33 words in plain-text.[7] The foundation has been criticized for the relatively small amount of wealth donated.[12] In 2020, Forbes gave Musk a philanthropy score of 1, because he had given away less than 1% of his net worth.[6] In November 2021, Musk donated $5.7 billion of Tesla's shares to charity, according to regulatory filings.[13] However, Bloomberg News noted that all of it went to his own foundation, bringing Musk Foundation's assets up to $9.4 billion at the end of 2021. The foundation disbursed $160 million to nonprofits that year.[14] Reporting by The New York Times found that in 2022, the Musk Foundation gave away $230 million less than the minimum required by law to maintain tax-deductible status, and that in 2021 and 2022 over half the foundation's funds went to causes connected to Musk, his family, or his businesses.[15]

References

  1. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/10/us/elon-musk-charity.html
  2. ^ https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-fortune-fight-jared-birchall-igor-kurganov-11657308426
  3. ^ "Musk Foundation". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022.
  4. ^ Carlson, Kara (December 13, 2022). "Mapping Musklandia: A guide to Elon Musk-related activity in the Austin area". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Musk's private foundation was founded in 2001 and is focused on renewable energy, ...
  5. ^ Harris, Mark (January 23, 2019). "How Elon Musk's secretive foundation hands out his billions". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Cuccinello, Hayley C. (September 8, 2020). "Elon Musk Has Promised To Give at Least Half His Fortune To Charity. Here's How Much He's Donated So Far". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Schleifer, Theodore (January 11, 2021). "The big decision before Elon Musk, now the richest person in the world". Vox. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  8. ^ "OpenAI shifts from nonprofit to 'capped-profit' to attract capital". March 11, 2019. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  9. ^ Salam, Erum (December 14, 2023). "Elon Musk spends $100m to open new university in Texas". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "Pledge Signatories". The Giving Pledge. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Chappell, Bill (February 8, 2021). "Elon Musk Funds $100 Million XPrize For Pursuit Of New Carbon Removal Ideas". NPR. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Coren, Michael J. "All the causes Elon Musk's foundation has donated money to since 2002". Quartz. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  13. ^ "Elon Musk Makes Biggest Donation in History". Bloomberg L.P. February 15, 2022. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  14. ^ Alexander, Sophie (December 12, 2022). "Musk's $5.7 Billion Mystery Gift Went to His Own Charity". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022.
  15. ^ Fahrenthold, David A.; Mac, Ryan (March 10, 2024). "Elon Musk Has a Giant Charity. Its Money Stays Close to Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
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