Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 17, 2026

Elon Musk says it's 'dumb' to call billionaires the bad guys

Elon Musk says it's 'dumb' to call billionaires the bad guys

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, said on Twitter Thursday that billionaires aren't the bad guys.
Musk tweeted that it is "morally wrong & dumb" to use the word billionaire as a pejorative if that person is using their wealth to create products that make "millions of people happy."

He added that if he could, he also would get rid of charitable deductions and class-action lawsuits.

Musk was replying to a tweet that said, "I feel like billionaires are most benign when trying to make money, and most nefarious when spending it trying to "do good."

Musk ran a Twitter poll, asking his 95 million followers who they trust less: politicians or billionaires. As of midday Friday, three-quarters of the 2.8 million respondents said they had less trust for politicians.

He then tagged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who recently told Bloomberg she wanted to replace her Tesla with an EV made by a company that supports unionization. Musk dared the Democratic congresswoman to run the same poll with her own followers. Musk has largely opposed unionization for Tesla in the past.

"A union is just another corporation," Musk said in another Tweet Thursday, which had gained 4,000 likes by midday Friday. "Far better for companies to compete for your skills, so that you have maximum optionality."

Musk's pro-billionaire tweets arrived as the World Economic Forum in Davos comes to a close. The annual gathering of millionaires and billionaires has routinely been met with criticism about the failure of the world's wealthiest people to give significant sums to solve the world's biggest problems -- as vulnerable populations across the world are expected to face surging energy prices, extreme weather and soaring food prices this year.

Gabriela Bucher, the executive director of Oxfam International, told CNN at Davos this week that governments should tax wealth on the world's wealthiest people.

This is hardly the first time Musk has opined on how billionaires should be spending their money. On Monday, David Beasley, the head of the U.N.'s World Food Program, gave the Associated Press an update on his spat with the billionaire, which was sparked when he said in a 2021 CNN interview that billionaires must step up to combat world hunger.

Beasley suggested that $6 billion, or 2% of Musk's net worth at the time, could help solve the crisis.

"Musk put $6 billion into a foundation. But everybody thought it came to us, but we ain't gotten any of it yet. So I'm hopeful," Beasley told the Associated Press at Davos.

Musk then replied to Beasley, tweeting that he would sell Tesla stock "right now" if the food program could detail how $6 billion would solve world hunger. Beasley then replied with a 1,000 word "executive summary" that mapped out how the UN could utilize the money to feed more than 40 million people across 43 countries.

The WFP has received no funding from Musk. Although Beasley directly asked Musk for help when speaking to the Associated Press, he said he remains hopeful.

"I don't know what it's going to take," Beasley said. "We're trying every angle, you know: Elon, we need your help, brother."

Last November, Musk donated roughly $5.7 billion worth of Tesla shares to an undisclosed charity, a donation that made him the second largest US donor in 2021, behind Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Reform UK Unveils Plan to Cut Welfare Spending by More Than £50 Billion a Year
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Praised Extinction Rebellion for Doing a 'Great Service'
UK Wildfire Phone Alert Triggers Backlash as Users Switch Off Emergency Warnings
Heathrow Roads Reopen After Burst Water Main Floods Access to Terminals 2 and 3
Former NBA Players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White Say They Will Enter 2027 WNBA Draft
Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Found Dead Days After Resigning Amid Plagiarism Row
US Appeals Court Rules AI Agent's Website Actions Are Legally Attributed to the User
France's Constitutional Council Blocks Social Media Ban for Children Under 15
Liechtenstein Changes Royal Succession Rules to Allow Women to Inherit the Throne
Women Allege Rape and Sexual Abuse at British Army College for Teenage Recruits
Minnesota: Two independent investigators posed as Muslims (one wearing a burqa) and showed how they could vote in elections without identification.
China’s Kimi Launches AI-Focused Credit Card With Agricultural Bank of China and American Express
Former Labour Adviser Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China Held Privileged Access as Top Party Donor
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Donald Trump Warns FIFA Against Ousting Gianni Infantino Amid Revolt by Global Football Leaders
Jeff Bezos Joins Investor Group Closing In on $6 Billion Liverpool FC Stake
UK Councils to Receive Sweeping Planning Powers to Ban New Vape and Betting Shops
Russia’s A7 Builds a State-Linked Payments Network Beyond Western Sanctions
Hyper-Realistic Reborn Dolls Draw Collectors Seeking Comfort and Craft
Gen Z Cuts Back on Dating as a Night Out Nears $200
Patients Turn to Artificial Intelligence for Therapy as Psychiatrists Warn of Privacy and Clinical Risks
Couples Embrace ‘Sleep Divorce’ to Protect Rest and Reduce Tension
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million and Change Facebook and Instagram Safeguards for Children
Up to only 10 Months in Prison for Swedish Officer’s Murderer Sparks Anger
Success: Nvidia Turned Gaming Chips Into the Engine of the AI Boom
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Danube Drought Exposes Nazi Wrecks and Pushes Central Europe’s Power System to the Brink
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Air Traffic Control Outage Grounded Flights Across the Midwest
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Australian Crew Evacuates Seriously Ill American From Antarctica in Midwinter Darkness
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
UK Drought Cuts Harvests and Raises Food-Security Fears
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
US Health Secretary: “I’m Not Afraid of Germs — I Used to Snort Cocaine Off Toilet Seats”
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
×