Inside Elon Musk’s secret property empire

Elon Musk. Picture: Chesnot/Getty Images

Elon Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire under a new pay package proposed by electric car company Tesla but if it happens the tech genius’ frugal real estate dealings will be the key.

The tech mogul has an estimated net worth of $436.3 billion, according to Forbes.

The SpaceX founder’s fortune makes him the wealthiest person in the world — and one that is almost double that of the second-richest man, Oracle founder and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison.

Unlike his fellow “super billionaires,” however, Musk claims to live a very low-key lifestyle, eschewing the luxury trappings that many of the world’s richest people indulge in as a result of their extraordinary fortunes, Realtor reports.

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Elon Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire. Picture: Win McNamee/Getty Images

For years, he has claimed that he resides in a rented property worth around $US50,000 ($A76,000) that he leases from his space technology company SpaceX and which is located just a stone’s throw from its headquarters in Brownsville, Texas.

The businessman announced on X that he had moved into the rental property in 2021.

“My primary home is literally a ~$50K house in Boca Chica/Starbase that I rent from SpaceX. It’s kinda awesome though,” he said.

The only other property the Tesla founder owned was an “events house” in the San Francisco Bay area.

However, in the years since, it has been revealed that Musk does in fact own at least two other homes — one of which is in Austin, Texas, where Tesla is headquartered.

Tesla is headquartered in Austin, Texas, where Musk owns a sizeable $US6 million home. Picture: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Elon Musk’s Brownsville, Texas, rental. Picture: Google Maps

News of his ownership of that dwelling emerged after it was revealed that he had become embroiled in a bitter legal spat with his neighbours in the leafy community of West Lake Hills over an enormous 16-foot chain-link fence that he had erected around his $US6 million ($A9.1 million) dwelling.

Musk’s fellow residents also voiced complaints about the constant presence of security guards in and around the property, as well as the increase in traffic thanks to the many guests who appeared to be visiting the home at all hours of the day.

The billionaire businessman managed to claim victory on at least one of those points in July after the West Lake Hills City Council voted to allow him to keep the fencing and gates erected at the property, provided that he adjusts their design in order to meet local regulations, according to local news outlet KUT News.

It is currently unclear whether Musk is using the Austin abode as his primary residence.

However, it was later revealed that he had purchased a mansion in Austin — when his neighbours issued complaints about a chain-link fence he had erected around it. Picture: Google Maps

However news of his neighbourly feud came not long after the New York Times claimed that the businessman had actually purchased three mansions in the Austin area — for a total of $US35 million ($A58 million) — that he planned to use to house all of his children, as well as several of the women he shares them with.

Musk is currently confirmed to have fathered at least 13 children since 2002.

However, conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair claimed in February that she had welcomed a baby boy with the Tesla founder, who has yet to acknowledge paternity.

He did, however, deny the Times’ report that he was building a compound for his kids.

In addition to his Austin residence, Musk also recently added another property back into his portfolio: a Los Angeles home that was once owned by Hollywood legend Gene Wilder.

The tech tycoon originally bought the property in 2013 for $US6.75 million ($A10.2 million).

However, he made a move to offload the property in 2020, when he announced plans to sell “almost all his physical possessions,” including Wilder’s former home.

Musk also recently reclaimed ownership of a Los Angeles property that was once owned by Gene Wilder. Picture: Realtor

Still, the Tesla founder made clear his enduring connection to the property.

He posted on X that, while he planned to “own no house,” any person or persons who took ownership of the Wilder property would be barred from demolishing it or making any major changes to its design.

“Gene Wilder’s old house … cannot be [torn] down or lose any [of] its soul,” he stipulated.

Months later, Musk had found the perfect person to take control of the dwelling — Wilder’s own nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman.

Walker-Pearlman and his wife, Elizabeth Hunter, purchased the home from the businessman for $US7 million ($A10.3 million) that same year.

It’s not currently known what Musk plans to do with the property. Picture: Yuri Gripas for The Washington Post via Getty Images

At the time, Musk was hailed for his generosity after it was reported that he had not only sold the home to the couple for under its estimated market value, but had also loaned them a hefty $US6.7 million ($A9.9 million) to help them with its purchase.

However, the sweet scenario quickly turned sour four years later, when Walker-Pearlman and Hunter fell behind on their loan payments, leading to Musk filing a notice of default.

That original default notice, which was dated July 29, 2024, stated that the property “may be sold without court action” if the owners had fallen behind in their payments.

Though a public auction of the property was scheduled to be held on December 3 2024, records filed the following month revealed that the home had been bought back by the same LLC through which Musk originally purchased it.

It’s not currently known what Musk plans to do with the property — having seemingly purchased it the first time around more as a trophy home than an actual residence.

Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and was republished with permission.

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