Elon Musk claims he doesn’t own any houses, but that’s actually not true!

In 2020, Elon Musk announced he was leaving California to move to Texas, beginning a “minimalist lifestyle campaign” that involved cutting back on almost all of his material possessions.

“I’m selling almost all of my tangible assets,” he wrote on social media. “I won’t own any more houses.”

However, in the years that followed, Musk quietly built an “empire” in Texas comprising more than 90 different companies and entities, accumulating a massive fortune, according to an investigation by The New York Times.

This discreet network reveals how Texas has become a crucial hub for the operations and ambitions of one of the world’s richest billionaires – who currently possesses a net worth exceeding $650 billion. More than 50 of Musk’s at least 90 companies located there are subsidiaries or affiliated entities of his larger businesses such as SpaceX, Tesla, and the non-profit Musk Foundation.

At least 37 companies appear to be primarily serving Musk’s personal interests. One company owns two multi-million dollar luxury apartments totaling over 650 square meters at the Austin Proper Hotel, overlooking the downtown skyline. Other companies manage his private jet for personal travel, along with a portfolio of over 400 hectares of land – an area larger than Central Park in New York City combined. The line between personal and business interests for Musk is often quite blurred.

The investigation also revealed that Musk used private companies to support President Donald J. Trump in the 2024 election. According to political finance experts, using private companies to pay for a super PAC is very rare and makes the flow of money difficult to trace.

The tool Musk frequently uses is limited liability companies (LLCs) – a popular model among the ultra-wealthy to protect owners from legal and financial risks while limiting public scrutiny. Whatever Musk’s intentions, the use of LLCs has made how he spends his money difficult to identify.

The New York Times analyzed millions of business and real estate records to identify Musk’s network of companies in Texas. Nearly half of these 37 private companies were established within the first two years after he moved there. Some companies were publicly known, but many others were not. At many of the addresses associated with his companies, employees didn’t even know their workplaces were connected to the billionaire.

Elon Musk’s companies, identified by The New York Times as being based in Texas, likely represent only a small fraction of his entire business empire. Musk also has ties to limited liability companies in other states such as California, Delaware, and Nevada.

The use of LLCs by the super-rich is perfectly legal and often aims to protect privacy. However, according to Mitchell Gans, a law professor at Hofstra University, these entities are now used so frequently and for such wide-ranging investments that some billionaires can no longer even keep track of how many companies they own.

The New York Times collected and analyzed millions of business, land, and real estate records to identify the companies Musk owns in Texas. Of the 37 personal companies linked to Musk in Texas, nearly half were established within the first two years after he moved there. Three companies subsequently ceased operations.

Some of Musk’s LLCs have been publicly disclosed, but many others have not. The purpose of some of these entities remains unclear, and the full extent of their assets cannot be determined.

On a sprawling 110-acre plot of land in Del Valle, Texas, near Austin, a large building was recently constructed along a rural road. When a New York Times reporter arrived at the scene, security personnel asked him to leave.

This land is owned by River Bottoms Ranch LLC, a company founded in 2021 by Jared Birchall, Musk’s asset manager. It is one of at least 12 private entities that Musk has used to acquire more than 1,000 acres of land in Bastrop and Travis counties. However, this may only represent a small fraction of his total privately owned land holdings. In addition, SpaceX and Tesla also own thousands of other acres in Texas.

Musk’s use of a series of limited liability companies to accumulate land suggests that he and his close associates proactively took steps to conceal these transactions from public attention.

Over a decade ago, Elon Musk used several limited liability companies (LLCs) to purchase real estate in Los Angeles, including one called Duck Duck Goose 100 LLC, which owned a house of approximately 280 square meters. At the time, Musk or his asset manager, Jared Birchall, were often credited as the operators of these companies. After moving to Texas, Musk sold some of his properties in California.

However, in his new home state, he appears to have taken further steps to conceal his activities. At least four limited liability companies with no publicly disclosed direct ties to Musk are linked to properties where he has lived or used.

Among them are two luxury apartments at the Proper Hotel in Austin – a trendy location where Musk and his friends used to party. According to three sources familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak publicly, Musk and his partner Shivon Zilis moved into one of these apartments around 2022. The two apartments are owned by AJG Growth Fund LLC, a Delaware-registered company managed by Antonio Gracias, a longtime friend of Musk.

Other sources indicate that Musk also purchased “dormant” properties in Texas to make it difficult for outsiders to determine where he actually lives. For example, he is believed to have bought at least one home in the upscale gated community of Spanish Oaks, a suburb of Austin.

Beginning in 2022, Musk continued to use limited liability companies with generic names to purchase three homes totaling approximately 2,880 square meters for his ex-wife and children. Musk has at least 14 children, including at least four with Shivon Zilis.