If you’re not a car aficionado, then chances are you’ve been asking “Who is Elon Musk?” The reason Elon Musk, CEO of the electric car-maker Tesla, is trending online right now is that today is Elon Musk’s birthday. We are going to celebrate his 45th birthday by serving up Elon Musk’s biography and discussing everything from Elon Musk’s wife (Talulah Riley) and Elon Musk’s kids to Elon Musk news and the astounding Elon Musk net worth.
South Africa
Many may not know this, but Elon Musk is actually South African and Canadian! He was born on June 28 in 1971 in Pretoria to a South African father and Canadian mother. He came to Canada when he was just 17 (without his parents’ support) to avoid serving in the South African army, whose mission at the time was to enforce apartheid. According to an interview in Quartz magazine, Elon Musk wasn’t always a household name. He struggled growing up and described his upbringing as a terrible one. He also faced a lot of adversity when he was the victim of bullying in school. It was part of the reason he hated school so much—hard to believe that a tech billionaire hated school.
Kids
Another not-so-hidden fact is that Elon Musk is actually the father of five sons (with his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson): Damian, Kai, Saxon, Xavier and Griffin Musk. As much as Elon Musk loves his sons, he has stated publicly in past interviews that he fears his children are too soft for the tough business world and worries about their hopes of becoming entrepreneurs. “I had a terrible upbringing. I had a lot of adversity growing up. One thing I worry about with my kids is they don’t face enough adversity.” It’s no surprise that Elon Musk has given his sons everything they need and more, but he understands that it’s because of adversity that people learn and build character from their trials. He attributes his creativity to his own challenges. It’s very common that the most successful people in the world are equally famous for their rewards as well as their hardships.
Wife Talulah
You may not have heard of Talulah Riley but she’s actually the on-and-off again second wife of—you guessed it—Elon Musk! But before Talulah became Mrs. Musk for the third or second time, she is actually an English actress and starred in the film Pride and Prejudice alongside Keira Knightley. Elon and Talulah married in 2010 and then divorced and remarried in 2013 (for the first time); the Elon Musk Twitter account even made a public and amicable note of it. The couple then filed for divorce again in 2014, remarried after that, and are now reportedly headed for divorce again! Does anyone else’s head hurt?
Tesla
Elon Musk is most famous for being the CEO of Tesla Motors, which is part of the reason he is a billionaire (and the closest thing to a real-life Tony Stark/Iron Man the world has). He’s the guy who brought electric cars into the mainstream market. He also founded his space exploration company, SpaceX, in 2002, with his reported goal being to have humans land on Mars within the next decade or so. Elon Musk has several other projects on the go, including technologies in the solar power, high-speed transportation, and artificial intelligence fields. The world can’t thank him enough for his genius, his contributions to space, and more.
Net Worth
The entrepreneur’s $11.6 billion net worth is due to his work in both the automotive industry and in space and science. Elon Musk always has a thirst for knowledge and prides himself on his hard work in both fields.
Happy Birthday, Elon Musk!
