
Among the donations made by the Musk Foundation, $55 million was intended to help a major SpaceX customer meet a charitable commitment. Millions of people went to Cameron County, Texas, after the rocket exploded. And there were donations to two schools closely tied to his companies: one walled inside a SpaceX complex, the other located next to a new housing development for Musk’s employees.
“What’s really striking about Musk is the disjuncture between his outsized public persona and his very, very minimal philanthropic presence,” said Benjamin Soskis, who studies philanthropy at the Urban Institute. While other billionaires aim for broad impact on society, Mr. Soskis said Mr. Musk’s foundation lacks «direction or real purpose, outside of his business ventures.»
Mr. Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
A school for its children
Mr. Musk and his younger brother Kimbal established the Musk Foundation in 2001, a year before the sale of PayPal, the online payments company he co-founded, to eBay for $1.5 billion. He earned more than $175 million from the sale and would endow his eponymous foundation with approximately $2 million in eBay stock.
The Musk Foundation 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 erased, replaced with black text stating that the foundation was interested in «science education, pediatric health and clean energy.»
It contained no contact information. This is still not the case.
In September 2014, Forbes estimated that Mr. Musk’s net worth was more than $10 billion, driven by the value of his Tesla stock holdings. But he gave little to his own charity. That year, according to tax returns, his foundation had $40,121 in the bank.