The Mormon and the Russian ex-gambler fighting for Elon Musk's money

These are the eccentric men behind the billionaire's fortune.

These are the eccentric men behind the billionaire's fortune.

Elon Musk might seem like a one-man shit (posting) show - despite having the sperm of a thousand men. Yet it takes a village to make a billionaire. 

His "shadow crew", as the Wall Street Journal called them, made up of an alternating roster of investors, executives, and friends, encouraged the Tesla CEO to go ahead with his now uncertain $44 billion Twitter takeover. 

Yet two very different men have had a particular influence on Musk of late: the long-time advisor who manages Musk's fortune and a newcomer, a long-haired ex-gambler from Russia with big ideas. Their warring is a rare look into the dynamics of Musk's inner circle.

Jared Birchall, a straight-laced wealth manager, became Musk's top deputy after many years and now heads his family office. A practicing Morman, he grew up in a family song-and-dance troupe called "The Birchall Family Singers". He was one of 11 children. He doesn't drink or smoke.

He handles billions in assets for Musk, and has been in charge of the Musk Foundation since 2016. He is also the director of Musk's tunneling startup Boring Co and CEO of his startup Neuralink. 

When Musk moved from California to Texas in 2020, Birchall moved his family there too.

Then there's Igor Kurganov, an ex-gambler, who quickly became a trusted advisor to Musk, despite having little experience in finance or security. He too followed Musk to Texas. 

Prior to working for Musk, the Russian-born college dropout won about $18 million in Poker tournaments. He also co-founded an organisation to help poker players find charities to donate their winnings.

He reportedly met Musk through his longtime partner Live Boeree, who was old friends with the mother of two of his nine children, Grimes. The couple started spending time together and Kurganov bonded with Musk over the Burning Man festival, which they both frequented. Kurganov eventually shared a vision in which Musk might do more for the greater good. By August last year, Kurganov had an email address at the Musk Foundation and was heavily involved in the charity.

The Wall Street Journal reported that during the pandemic, they chatted late into the night about how Musk might shape the planet through "effective altruism". 

Soon after Kurganov started working for Musk, the Tesla CEO told Birchall he was so ensnared by Kurganov's ideas that he wanted to put him in charge of giving out funds from his private fortune (around $230 billion) to charity, the WSJ reported. Birchall said: You can't.

The compromise they came to was this. Kurganov could oversee Musk's $5.7 billion Tesla shares, which he pledged to donate to charity, eventually. Birchall would look after the other $224 billion.

But Birchall was worried Kurganov suddenly had great influence on what to do with Musk's shares, heightened by the fact an FBI agent had become interested in the newcomer's quick rise to Musk's inner circle. Kurganov has not been accused of any wrongdoing. 

In May, Birchall asked Musk to remove Kurganov from his post and Musk agreed to let him go.

Birchall prevails.