In 2022, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, set a world record for the largest charitable donation by a car company owner, contributing an astounding $5.7 billion to various global causes. This massive philanthropic gesture, filed through a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure, marked a pivotal moment in tech industry philanthropy, surpassing donations from other billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

Musk’s donation focused on causes such as sustainability, education, and healthcare, aligning with his broader commitment to tackling pressing global challenges. As a leading tech philanthropist, Musk’s generosity underscores his vision of using wealth from electric vehicles and space exploration to create lasting positive change

Elon Musk donated $5.7 billion in Tesla stock to his foundation in 2021, which was the largest charitable donation ever made by a car company owner at the time. The donation made the Musk Foundation one of the largest foundations in the United States.The charity that received a gift of Tesla shares valued at $5.7 billion from Elon Musk at the end of 2021 was his own foundation, Bloomberg News reports.

The donation to the Musk Foundation instantly made it one of the largest foundations in the United States, with $9.4 billion in assets at the end of 2021, according to a tax filing obtained by Bloomberg. The filing details $160 million in donations from the foundation to nonprofits last year, including $55 million to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, $54 million to the XPrize Foundation, and donations Musk publicly promised to school districts and nonprofits in the area around Brownsville, Texas, near the SpaceX spaceport.

Musk has a personal fortune estimated at $167.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. According to a list of the top charitable givers last year, reported by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Musk’s donations made him the second-biggest donor of 2021, after the $15 billion awarded by the now-divorced Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates.