The internet is full of bizarre websites. There’s a site dedicated to bouncing cats (they just literally bounce across the screen). There’s a site with a giant checkerboard that moves pieces without your intervention. There’s even a “quiet place” (a white screen) if these sites distract you too much.
But among the strangest is a site dedicated to spending Elon Musk’s wealth. Yes, you can spend all US$217 billion of Musk’s wealth on a number of given items, including 80 years of Spotify ($9,600) or influencing a politician ($2 million).
Even though it can be fun imagining yourself buying luxurious items (a Bugatti La Voiture Noire, $11 million, for instance), I thought it be interesting to ask, which items would be the best long-term investments? In other words, how can you best spend Elon Musk’s money?
One million acres of land: $410 million
As Mark Twain once said, “Buy land. They don’t make it anymore.” At 4.1 million per 1,000 acres, you could buy a lot of land with $217 billion. If you’re Musk, one million acres is a tonne of Tesla factories, or perhaps more launch pads for SpaceX.
Mona Lisa: $869 million
Why not own the most famous painting in the world? At $869 million, you could technically buy the Mona Lisa, though you’d have to wrench it from the Louvre first.
NFL team: $3 million
My prediction: Musk will buy the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions, or the New York Jets and rename them the “Musketeers.” At $3 million, he could take one of the poorest-performing teams in NFL history and remake them into a Super Bowl winning super team. That could be a good investment — if Musk knew how to manage football teams.
20 Los Angeles homes: $120 million
If you’re sick of the unaffordable property in Vancouver and Toronto (ranked second and fifth in “hardest to afford in the world”), you could buy a few houses in Los Angeles. At $5 million a pop, you could own property in one of the most desirable locations in North America.
Five Los Angeles mansions: $260 million
Why own a five-bedroom and six-bathroom home when you could have eight bedrooms and 20 bathrooms? When you’re Musk, you could buy five mansions in Los Angeles. Just be careful: though a mansion could appreciate in value, it’s hard to find a buyer willing to pay such a crazy amount of money. You may have to take a “deep discount” when you sell.
Formula One team: $700 million
Formula One racing generates more revenue than almost every sports competition in the world. In 2021, it generated $1.38 billion in revenue, making it second only to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). If you buy a Formula One team and win, you have a chance to earn some significant profits.
100 modern buildings: $1.2 billion
Imagine Musk as the face of a new WeWork. With 100 modern buildings, Musk could have one in nearly every major city in North America. Considering how high rent is, he could return that $600 million in no time at all.
100 Hollywood films: $9 billion
Musk might not have enough to buy Disney (a market capitalization of around $283 billion), but he has plenty of money to compete with it. At $90 million a film, Musk could produce 100 Hollywood films, perhaps more, if his films proved to be good.
That’s a lot of stuff: How much have we spent?
Let’s recap:
1,000 acres of land x 100 = $410,000,000
Mona Lisa x 1 = $869,000,000
NFL team (Average) x 1 = $3,000,000,000
Los Angeles home x 20 = $120,000,000
Los Angeles mega mansions x 5 = $260,000,000
F1 team x 1 = $700,000,000
Modern building x 100 = $1,200,000,000
Hollywood films x 100 = $9,000,000,000
So far, we’ve spent $15.559 billion. That’s only 7.17% of Musk’s fortune. Yeah — we have a long ways to go. At this rate, you could give every person in the world (7.753 billion) $1,000, and you would still have money left over.
