Meet Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk’s lil’ brother. While Elon bumbles around chaotically, well on his way to becoming the most hated man in the country, his younger brother has kept a low profile. But, make no mistake, he’s still rich. That said, compared to Elon’s absurd $300 billion fortune, Kimbal is a mouse standing next to an elephant.
In 1995, Kimbal and Elon co-founded Zip2, an online city guide company. That was sold to Compaq for $307 million in 1999, netting Kimbal around $15 million to $22 million. Kimbal later invested in X.com, which evolved into PayPal and was eventually acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, further boosting his bank balance.
A significant portion of Kimbal’s fortune stems from his Tesla stake, where he serves as a board member (he’s also a SpaceX board member). Owning approximately 1.5 million shares, his holdings have been valued at over $500 million during Tesla’s peak stock periods, such as in 2021 when shares hit $880. However, he has cashed out portions over the years, selling over $300 million worth since Tesla went public in 2010, including a $28 million sale in Feb. 2025.
Cashing out has resulted in some drama. Kimbal’s 2021 sale was announced one day before Elon put out a Twitter poll asking if he should sell 10% of his shares. The poll said yes, Elon sold the hares, the stock price sank. Did Kimbal know and sell off in advance? It’s unclear what the result of the investigation was, but as Kimbal hasn’t been charged with anything it seems he’s off the hook.
So, as of April 2025, Kimbal’s net worth is estimated at around $500 million to $700 million, though exact figures fluctuate due to the volatile rollercoaster that is Trump-era international finance (thanks, big bro).
Beyond tech, Kimbal has pursued his passion for food and sustainability. He founded The Kitchen Restaurant Group, a lucrative farm-to-table chain with locations in Colorado, Chicago, and Austin. He’s also involved in urban farming venture Square Roots, an urban farming venture, and nonprofit school garden company Big Green.
Who would have thought that Trump was actually the most high tax American President in generations.
— 𝙺𝚒𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚔 🤠 (@kimbal) April 7, 2025
Through his tariff strategy, Trump has implemented a structural, permanent tax on the American consumer.
Even if he is successful in bringing jobs on shore through the tariff…
Kimbal is also notably more critical of Trump than his brother, underlining that his tariffs are “a tax on the consumer” and describing the president as “high tax”. If we had to be stuck on a desert island with a member of the Musk family we’d definitely pick Vivian, though perhaps Kimbal isn’t so bad.
Published: Apr 9, 2025 08:35 am