Tesla CEO Elon Musk has donated roughly $5.7 billion worth of Tesla shares to charity in November, a new SEC filing shows.
According to the filing, Musk donated a total of 5,044,000 Tesla shares between Nov. 19 and 29, 2021.
The name of the charity isn’t revealed in the filing, but the donation could have something to do with this Twitter thread and the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP).
In November 2021, WFP director David Beasley said in an interview with CNN that just 2 percent of Musk’s net worth, or roughly $6 billion, could save the lives of 42 million people in need. This was brought to attention to Musk via Twitter, to which he said he would sell Tesla stock “right now” and donate if the WFP could describe “exactly how $6B will solve world hunger.” On Nov. 16, Beasley followed up with a detailed plan of how the funds would be used to help fight famine — just three days before Musk’s first large donation.
Business Insider spoke to WFP spokesman Steve Taravella, but he would not confirm that Musk donated the shares to the WFP, saying it is the organization’s policy to leave disclosure to donors themselves. It’s worth noting that Musk runs his own philanthropic organization called the Musk Foundation, which creates grants in support of renewable energy research, space exploration, pediatric research, science and engineering education, and development of “safe” artificial intelligence.
Besides donating the shares, Musk also sold roughly 10 percent of his Tesla shares in November and December 2021 following a Twitter poll in which he asked whether he should sell his Tesla stock in order to pay tax. He’s still the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $227 billion, according to Bloomberg.
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