World’s richest man Elon Musk chooses to live ‘below the poverty line’ according to ex
Even though Elon Musk is the richest ever person in human history, his girlfriend had to sleep on a broken mattress because he was too cheap to buy a new one.
The world’s richest man chooses to live like a pauper, his ex-girlfriend has revealed in a baffling turn of events.
South African and US tech entrepreneur Elon Musk had a vast wealth of $US306.4 billion ($A423 billion) at his peak in November last year, making him the first person in the history of the world to cross over the $US300 billion mark.
The Tesla and SpaceX founder, 50, is currently still top of the charts, with a net worth of$US218 billion ($A299 billion) at time of writing as per the Forbes Billionaire Index.
Despite that, he “lives at times below the poverty line”.
That’s according to his on-and-off girlfriend Grimes, who made the bombshell claim in a bizarre interview with Vanity Fair last week.
Stream your news live & on demand with Flash for $8/month and no lock in contracts. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >
In a sit-down with the publication, 34-year-old Grimes candidly revealed that she did not live a life of luxury with Musk at times (as well as accidentally revealing she and Musk had had a secret daughter in December).
“Like, bro wouldn’t even get a new mattress,” she told the reporter.
While staying at Musk’s Los Angeles pad, she discovered her side of the bed had a hole in it.
However, Musk was reluctant to replace the essential item of furniture and suggested they ferry over the mattress from her place.
“Bro does not live like a billionaire. Bro lives at times below the poverty line,” Grimes said.
“To the point where I was like, can we not live in a very insecure $40,000 house? Where the neighbours, like, film us, and there’s no security, and I’m eating peanut butter for eight days in a row?”
“I’m not super into amenities,” she said. “But, um, I need nutrition and stuff.”
My gf @Grimezsz is mad at me
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 1, 2020
The news doesn’t completely come out of the blue.
In July last year, Mr Musk casually mentioned in a reply to a tweet that he lived in a tiny shack worth $US50,000 ($A68,000) at most.
The billionaire was for a time living in a humble home that he reportedly rents from SpaceX on its launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.
The house, which was constructed from a box in just one day, measures a modest 35sq m and includes the bare essentials such as a living area, bathroom, bed and kitchen.
Musk’s tiny house is believed to have been produced by Boxable.
The Las Vegas-based company’s houses are designed for affordability and ease of construction and look like a studio apartment, although they are also customisable.
That humble rental was the most googled celebrity home of 2021, with over 1.3 million searches globally.
The SpaceX CEO has sold most of his $US100 million ($A137 million) real estate portfolio after making a pledge in May 2020 to get rid of all of his physical possessions and “own no house”.
In November last year, he sold his final nine bedroom mansion for $US30 million ($A41 million).
$95m bid to stop bird flu ravaging Australia
Australia is the only continent yet to detect the highly pathogenic strain which has caused havoc across the globe.
ScoMo lands surprise new role
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has landed a surprise new role in Australia’s budding space industry.
Builder’s desperate act to survive
The building industry is suffering a decade-long ‘decimation’ that has ruined lives and left companies in disastrous debt.