Table of Contents
Washington DC:
It’s not inconceivable that the richest person in the world could pull more than just a few strings with top politicians, but Elon Musk appears to be investing himself in the political world with such intensity that analysts are now wondering if there is a bigger plan is.
Last week, Elon Musk made history by breaking his own previous record and becoming the first person with a net worth of over $400 billion. In just six days he has added almost another 100 billion ($86 billion) and is closing in on the 500 billion dollar mark. In the past year, Musk has added $257 billion to his fortune – $7 billion more than the total wealth of Jeff Bezos – the second richest person in the world.
Image and data credit: Bloomberg
But Musk isn’t just riding the wave when it comes to business, he’s now doing the same in geopolitics. After being accepted into the Trump Administration 2.0, Elon Musk becomes immersed in the world of politics. Although he was deeply involved in Donald Trump’s campaign and is partly credited with his victory in the US elections, he now appears to be supporting – or rather influencing – leaders from outside the United States.
US DONE, MUSK TURN EYES ON UK
From backing one leader to backing another – this time in Britain – Elon Musk has had extensive talks with anti-immigration hardliner Nigel Farage. The discussions between the two largely focused on Musk’s funding of Farage’s far-right party ‘Reform UK’.
Elon Musk, who now freely uses Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s resort-cum-residence in Florida, as his political office, invited Nigel Farage to a meeting earlier this week.
Writing about it in the British newspaper The TelegraphMr Farage confirmed that “the money issue was discussed”, although the two were unable to agree on the amount in question at the end of that meeting. “There will be ongoing negotiations about this,” Farage added.
In sharing details of the meeting, which is sure to raise eyebrows in Britain’s two main political party offices – the Labor Party, now in government, and the Conservative Party, currently in opposition – Mr Farage mentioned the Elon Musk’s disdain for both parties. He stated that Musk “described the Labor and Conservative parties as the uniparty, and left us (Reform Party) in no doubt that he is right behind us.”
In his article, Mr Farage also mentioned that he wants to learn from Elon Musk’s financial incentives to encourage people to vote – a strategy that worked for Donald Trump’s Republican party during the US election. Mr Farage said: “I have come home with copious notes on how they have increased turnout, voter registration and much more, all of which I intend to implement as part of the professionalisation of our party.”
Elon Musk is reportedly considering an initial $100 million donation to Nigel Farage’s Reform Party. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Farage said: “He wants to help us, he is not against the idea of giving us money, provided we can do it legally through British companies.”
It will be an uphill task for Farage’s party to even think about winning a general election in Britain. In the most recent election this year, the Reform Party won just five seats in the 650-seat British Parliament. However, in terms of vote share, it scores impressively: it represents 14 percent of all votes cast. Farage hopes that with Musk’s moral and financial support, his party might do the unthinkable.
Concluding his article, Mr Farage wrote: “It is encouraging to hear Elon speak with such concern about British politics. He sees the motherland of the English-speaking world as being in very deep trouble.”
After their meeting, Farage wrote on Musk’s social media platform
Absolute
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2024
ELON MUSK’S CALL WITH ZELENSKY OF UKRAINE
Last month, Elon Musk was with Donald Trump at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago residence and luxury resort in Palm Beach, Florida, when Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on the phone.
During the phone call, Donald Trump reportedly handed the phone to Elon Musk and asked the SpaceX founder to join the call with President Zelensky.
Elon Musk then assured President Zelensky that he will continue to help Ukraine through his Starlink satellite constellation. Since the Russian invasion in 2022, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system has given Ukraine a significant frontline advantage by allowing its armed forces to share real-time drone coordinates, data and imagery between units. It also provided support to Ukraine’s military communications in areas where mobile phone networks had been destroyed.
FRIENDSHIP WITH JAVIER MILEI OF ARGENTINA
Argentine President Javier Milei was reportedly one of the few world leaders invited to Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony on January 20, 2025 – an invitation he reportedly accepted. Elon Musk has been a very strong supporter of President Milei.
According to a report in the New York Times, the tech billionaire claimed in a video uploaded by Elon Musk himself on social media platform X that watching President Milei’s speech was “better than having sex.”
Elon Musk had even met with President Milei when news of his election victory was confirmed. In a post on X before that meeting, Musk had written: “Prosperity lies ahead for Argentina.”
It should be noted that Argentina has large reserves of lithium, which is crucial for Tesla, Elon Musk’s EV company.
According to a report from CNN, Elon Musk is in talks with at least a dozen other world leaders – for both geopolitical and business reasons.
Only time will tell whether Elon Musk’s political reach will be limited to just pulling a few strings, or whether it will lead to him holding the reins that could restructure world politics.