A take a look at the individuals who affect the world’s richest man, and people who stand to achieve from their affiliation with him now.
Elon Musk occupies a uncommon place on the heart of American energy.
Because the “first buddy,” he has received the ear of President-elect Donald J. Trump, having spent over $250 million within the remaining months of 2024 to assist him get elected. Mr. Musk has appeared in household images at Mar-a-Lago and joined Mr. Trump on calls with world leaders and chief executives.
Mr. Musk has by no means had extra affect over enterprise, world politics and the American democratic system. He helped kill bipartisan laws in Congress to keep away from a authorities shutdown, although a invoice was later handed.
The place does he go from right here?
These are the individuals who affect Mr. Musk proper now, and people whom he influences in flip. They’re longtime pals, traders, workers members or occasion buddies — and typically, these boundaries blur.
They form how Mr. Musk operates and views the world. Many have propped him up, within the good occasions and the dangerous, and a few now stand to achieve from his new place in U.S. politics.
These individuals have fueled Mr. Musk and his companies. Through the years, they’ve invested tens of millions of {dollars} in SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, the Boring Firm, X and xAI. Some have gained board seats or turn into shut pals with Mr. Musk for his or her loyalty.
Steve Jurvetson
Mr. Jurvetson is a longtime Silicon Valley enterprise capitalist and was an early investor in Mr. Musk’s SpaceX, the place he’s a board member. He’s additionally a superfan of Mr. Musk’s. On a podcast in 2020, he praised the billionaire for being “the best present of the American dream residing proper now.”
Marc Andreessen
The enterprise capitalist is one in every of Mr. Musk’s huge monetary supporters in Silicon Valley: His agency, Andreessen Horowitz, has backed SpaceX, X and xAI.
Shaun Maguire
A associate at Sequoia Capital, Mr. Maguire led the agency’s offers into Mr. Musk’s SpaceX, X, xAI and Boring Firm, a tunneling enterprise. He has performed an enormous function in Mr. Musk’s work through the presidential transition.
John Hering
Mr. Hering, a enterprise capitalist, invests in Mr. Musk’s corporations and has turn into a trusted adviser. Just lately, Mr. Hering has hung out in Palm Seaside, Fla., serving to with the presidential transition.
Peter Thiel
Mr. Thiel and Mr. Musk are members of the so-called PayPal Mafia, a gaggle of founders and early workers of the funds firm. Whereas Mr. Thiel helped oust Mr. Musk from the corporate a long time in the past, he has just lately turn into a political ally and supporter. Vice President-elect JD Vance as soon as labored for Mr. Thiel’s enterprise capital agency, and Mr. Thiel was the one who launched the operating mates.
Roelof Botha
A fellow South African, Mr. Botha was a member of the PayPal Mafia. Now, because the managing associate of Sequoia Capital, he oversees the enterprise agency’s numerous investments into Mr. Musk’s corporations, together with X and xAI.
Larry Ellison
Mr. Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, is a self-described good good friend of Mr. Musk’s and has taken half in some Trump transition conferences. When Mr. Musk purchased Twitter in 2022, Mr. Ellison dedicated $1 billion to the deal.
Mr. Musk’s pals come from totally different areas of his life. Some began as colleagues or traders, however later developed private relationships with the billionaire — to the purpose the place they’ve attended Burning Man or vacationed collectively.
Mr. Musk has additionally grown shut with quite a lot of figures within the tech scene round Austin, the place he has been relocating a few of his corporations’ operations to, away from the San Francisco space.
Antonio Gracias
Mr. Gracias is one in every of Mr. Musk’s oldest pals; he was an early investor in SpaceX, Tesla and different corporations, and he helped fund a pro-Trump tremendous PAC began by Mr. Musk.
Ken Howery
A co-founder of PayPal, Mr. Howery could be very concerned in Republican politics. He and Mr. Musk are a part of the identical social circles in Austin.
Michael Kives
Mr. Musk has typically stayed with Mr. Kives, a Hollywood agent and Democratic financier, when he’s in Los Angeles.
Luke Nosek
An in depth good friend in Texas now and lively in conservative politics, Mr. Nosek is without doubt one of the a number of entrepreneurs who helped begin PayPal.
David Sacks
A PayPal Mafia affiliate, Mr. Sacks is a longtime good friend who has grown nearer to Mr. Musk after the acquisition of Twitter and his rightward political shift. Mr. Sacks has been picked to a tech place in Mr. Trump’s White Home.
Sriram Krishnan
A former enterprise capitalist at Andreessen Horowitz, Mr. Krishnan was a part of the crew that took over Twitter after Mr. Musk purchased it. President-elect Trump just lately tapped him to work with Mr. Sacks on synthetic intelligence initiatives.
Joe Lonsdale
A co-founder of the software program firm Palantir, which has quite a few Protection Division contracts, Mr. Lonsdale supplied steerage to Mr. Musk’s pro-Trump tremendous PAC and has helped advise the world’s richest man on the presidential transition.
Rupert Murdoch
Mr. Musk dined at Mr. Murdoch’s house simply earlier than Election Day. The media mogul has remained shut with Mr. Musk whilst his flagship newspaper, The Wall Road Journal, has reported critically on him.
James Murdoch
A present Tesla board member, in addition to a SpaceX investor and a son of Rupert Murdoch’s, James Murdoch and Mr. Musk are pals who’ve vacationed collectively.
Joe Gebbia
A former Airbnb government, Mr. Gebbia sits on Tesla’s board and can be a part of the group that Mr. Musk hangs out with in Austin.
Jason Calacanis
A start-up investor and podcaster, Mr. Calacanis has been a longtime supporter of Mr. Musk’s from the early days at Tesla. He has attended Burning Man with Mr. Musk and most just lately suggested the billionaire through the takeover of Twitter.
Michael Dell
The billionaires have turn into nearer as Mr. Musk has made Austin his dwelling base. Mr. Dell has voiced his help of the federal government effectivity division and is creating computing infrastructure to assist energy Mr. Musk’s xAI.
Ari Emanuel
The Hollywood media mogul has grown near Mr. Musk, who as soon as sat on the board of his firm, Endeavor. The SpaceX chief has vacationed with Mr. Emanuel and attended his marriage ceremony. Endeavor has additionally invested in X.
Robin Ren
Mr. Ren attended the College of Pennsylvania with Mr. Musk, who thought-about him to be higher at physics throughout that point. Mr. Ren went on to work at Tesla as a vice chairman of enterprise growth and, for a time, led the corporate’s enlargement into China. He additionally invested in Mr. Musk’s Twitter takeover.
Joe Rogan
The favored podcaster has frolicked with Mr. Musk in Austin. Mr. Musk has appeared on his present 5 occasions within the final six years.
Mr. Musk has a big, sophisticated household. He has fathered at the least 12 youngsters with three totally different companions. He typically mixes enterprise with household issues. His brother has sat on the boards of his corporations, whereas his mom and younger son have sat in on conferences for his corporations and for his newly fashioned Division of Authorities Effectivity.
Kimbal Musk
Kimbal, Mr. Musk’s brother, has been an in depth confidant for years. He runs a restaurant enterprise in Denver, however has lengthy been concerned in Elon’s corporations: He was an early SpaceX and Tesla board member, along with advising on smaller endeavors.
James Musk
Mr. Musk’s youthful cousin James now works as a belief engineer at X, after following Mr. Musk from firm to firm.
Errol Musk
Mr. Musk advised a biographer that he and his father, Errol, are typically estranged, however Errol has stated the 2 are in frequent contact. He has visited his son in Texas.
Tosca Musk
Mr. Musk’s sister, Tosca, is the pinnacle of a manufacturing firm that focuses on adapting romance novels and erotic fan fiction. She has been an enormous Democratic donor, and helped host a fund-raiser for Stacey Abrams, the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia.
Grimes
The pop singer, born Claire Boucher, is the mom of three of Mr. Musk’s youngsters and has been engaged in custody battles wtih him.
X Æ A-12 Musk
Mr. Musk’s eldest son with Grimes, the four-year-old X, as he’s generally recognized, has been a frequent presence along with his father at his corporations’ numerous places of work and at Mar-a-Lago.
Justine Wilson Musk
Mr. Musk’s first spouse and the mom of 5 of his eldest youngsters, she helps mother or father a few of these youngsters with him. (Although one of many youngsters, Vivian, has reduce off ties along with her father.)
Talulah Riley
Ms. Riley, an actress, is Mr. Musk’s second spouse, having married and divorced him twice. They continue to be in touch.
Shivon Zilis
A former enterprise capitalist and present government at Neuralink, Ms. Zilis is the mom of at the least three youngsters with Mr. Musk. She has been noticed at Mar-a-Lago after the election.
Maye Musk
Mr. Musk’s mom, a mannequin and dietitian, often attends social and political occasions along with her son.
With Mr. Musk main six totally different corporations, he’s stored a small circle of trusted advisers and deputies throughout these organizations to take care of operations. A few of these women and men have labored with Mr. Musk for greater than a decade and joined Tesla or SpaceX within the early days, when neither firm was a assured success. A few of these lieutenants transfer from job to job with Mr. Musk as he deploys them on the newest situation he’s deemed necessary.
Alex Spiro
Mr. Spiro, an legal professional with high-profile shoppers, notably defended Mr. Musk in a defamation lawsuit after the billionaire referred to as a British cave explorer a “pedo man” on Twitter in 2018. Just lately, Mr. Spiro has turn into Mr. Musk’s assault canine towards authorities regulators.
Chris Younger
Mr. Younger, a high Republican discipline operative, was employed to be Mr. Musk’s political adviser earlier this yr. They didn’t know one another earlier than the election, however Mr. Younger has led Mr. Musk’s tactical work in Republican politics.
Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy
Mr. O’Shaughnessy, a retired Air Power common generally known as “Shags,” is one in every of Mr. Musk’s high lieutenants at SpaceX. He was just lately pushed as a candidate for a Protection Division job.
Mark Juncosa
Because the vice chairman of auto engineering at SpaceX, Mr. Juncosa has labored his means up the ranks in his greater than 13 years on the firm. He’s one in every of Mr. Musk’s most trusted engineers.
Omead Afshar
Mr. Afshar, one in every of Mr. Musk’s right-hand males, beforehand oversaw the development of Tesla’s manufacturing facility in Austin, and is now concerned with the manufacturing of the Starship rocket at SpaceX.
Tim Hughes
As a senior authorities affairs government at SpaceX, Mr. Hughes has turn into important to Mr. Musk as the corporate has regarded to unfold its affect and its satellite tv for pc web service, Starlink, outdoors the USA. Mr. Musk has put forth Mr. Hughes as a possible rent for the Division of Protection.
Ira Ehrenpreis
A present Tesla board member, Mr. Ehrenpreis helped push by means of a controversial pay bundle at Tesla that helped make Mr. Musk the richest man on this planet.
Jared Birchall
Mr. Birchall, a former wealth supervisor at Morgan Stanley, is the longtime head of Mr. Musk’s household workplace, in addition to of the Musk Basis. He has additionally been advising the presidential transition.
Jehn Balajadia
Although she has the title of “operations coordinator” on the Boring Firm, Ms. Balajadia is successfully Mr. Musk’s secretary, serving to him with day-to-day duties and scheduling. She usually follows him as he travels, and was ever-present throughout his acqusition of Twitter.
Linda Yaccarino
A former government at NBCUniversal, Ms. Yaccarino is the chief government of X — and infrequently parrots his political beliefs and speaking factors.
Robyn Denholm
Because the chair of Tesla’s board, the Australian enterprise government has exerted little oversight over Mr. Musk, who needed to step down from his function as chairman after his struggle with the Securities and Change Fee in 2018.
Tom Zhu
A senior vice preisdent at Tesla who oversees a lot of the corporate’s operations in China, an more and more necessary marketplace for the electrical automaker.
Franz von Holzhausen
The lead designer at Tesla, he has been recognized to seem onstage with Mr. Musk throughout launch occasions. He has labored on the firm for practically 16 years and is one in every of Tesla’s longest-serving workers.
Ross Nordeen
Certainly one of Musk’s most trusted engineers, he has moved from Tesla to X and now to xAI. He has labored carefully with Mr. Musk’s cousin James.
Steve Davis
Few individuals on this listing have earned Mr. Musk’s belief greater than Mr. Davis, who is commonly referred to as upon to assist with particular conditions. Mr. Davis, who by day is an government on the Boring Firm, has successfully led Mr. Musk’s work on the presidential transition.
Gwynne Shotwell
The second strongest individual at SpaceX, she has overseen the day-to-day operations of the rocket firm because it has grown to be a serious contractor of NASA and the Protection Division.
Mr. Musk’s introduction into the MAGA world has been swift, after his public endorsement of Mr. Trump’s candidacy in July. Because the election, Mr. Musk has turn into nearly inseparable from the president-elect, constructing quick friendships not solely with Mr. Trump, but in addition with a few of his closest advisers. These alliances will turn into much more necessary, as Mr. Musk has stated he’ll push to slash federal spending along with his authorities effectivity group.
Alex Lorusso
A enterprise associate of Benny Johnson’s, the conservative media persona, Mr. Lorusso was a paid advisor for Mr. Musk’s tremendous PAC. Mr. Lorusso is without doubt one of the several-high profile conservative voices who was as soon as barred on Twitter and later reinstated by Mr. Musk.
Tucker Carlson
Earlier than leaving Fox Information, Mr. Carlson interviewed Mr. Musk for one in every of his final reveals. Since then, the pair have bonded. Mr. Carlson posts episodes of his new on-line present on X, and has turn into one in every of Mr. Musk’s largest defenders in media.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Main as much as the election, the pharmaceutical entrepreneur turned Republican presidential candidate was often cited on-line by Mr. Musk. Now, the 2 would be the co-leaders of the federal government effectivity division in an try to slash $2 trillion from the federal price range.
Stephen Miller
Mr. Musk has backed a few of Mr. Miller’s prior political work. And the Trump senior adviser, recognized for his vocal stances on immigration points that Mr. Musk cares deeply about, has labored side-by-side with the billionaire through the transition.
Nelson Peltz
Mr. Peltz has described himself because the “matchmaker” between Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk. Mr. Peltz, an activist investor, hosted a dinner at his dwelling in Palm Seaside this February the place Mr. Musk first voiced his want to turn into concerned with the election.
Donald Trump
Although they didn’t know one another effectively six months in the past, the 2 have appeared insperable because the election. Mr. Trump tapped Mr. Musk to be the co-head of the brand new effort to downsize authorities, and publicly, they usually appear to be mesmerized by one another.
