How Long You Have To Work To Be as Wealthy as Elon Musk
A billionaire will often tell the story of their rise to financial success as though it’s possible for anyone to do the same if they just work hard enough. While most people know they’re not becoming billionaires anytime soon, is it possible to get there just by working, saving and doing everything “right” financially? How long would you have to work to be as wealthy as Elon Musk?
Read More: Middle-Class to Upper-Class: 8 Steps To Build Generational Wealth
Discover Next: 8 Low-Effort Ways to Make Passive Income (You Can Start This Week)
We looked at an “average” middle-class person and tried to extrapolate what an Elon Musk–esque financial trajectory might look like.
What an 'Average' Middle-Class Financial Life Looks Like
For this scenario, we’re going to create a fictional average American worker earning around $80,000 a year in an affordable state, saving consistently and investing for the long term.
Though $80,000 doesn’t go tremendously far, depending upon where a person lives, in our scenario, this person lives in a low-cost state, maybe Oklahoma or Kansas.
If they follow common financial advice and save 10% to 15% of their income, they can put away about $8,000 to $12,000 per year in savings and investments.
Learn More: Enter for a Chance To Win $500 in MoneyLion's Summer Break Giveaway (No pur. nec. Ends 7/4/26. See official rules at mlion.info/summerbreakofficialrules)
Elon Musk’s Net Worth, Broken Into Real Numbers
Elon Musk’s net worth is around $830 billion, according to Forbes, though that fluctuates constantly.
That kind of wealth is beyond most people’s imaginings. It’s also not a number he holds in the bank in cash; his wealth is largely comprised of investment assets and stock options, rather than liquid cash.
If You Saved Every Dollar You Earned, Here’s the Timeline
Let’s say our fictional average worker saves every dollar of their $80,000 salary and spends nothing. What would that add up to?
$830,000,000,000 ÷ $80,000 = about 10.4 million years
You read that right. Even in this unrealistic best-case scenario, it would take 10.4 million years to match that level of wealth. It really puts that kind of wealth into perspective.
What Happens When You Actually Save and Invest
While Musk’s level of wealth may be out of reach, say you save $10,000 per year and invest it with a 7% average annual return.
Your wealth could look as follows:
30 years, you’d have about $1 million
40 years, roughly $2.1 million
50 years, around $4.5 million
That’s a solid return by any normal standard, but compared to $830 billion, it’s just a blip.
$830,000,000,000 ÷ $4,500,000 ≈ 184,000 times more wealth or 184,000 years of working
Even after a full working lifetime of disciplined saving, there’s no way to bridge such a gap.
Why You Still Can’t Catch Up
Most people build wealth through earned income, gradual saving and smart investing. Billionaires build wealth through ownership in assets that can scale rapidly and compound at massive levels.
That means their wealth can grow by billions in a single year, which far outpaces what even the most disciplined saver can contribute over a lifetime.
The Real Takeaway: You’re Playing a Different Game
It’s easy to look at numbers like these and feel way behind. But this is not an apples-to-apples comparison in the least.
For most people, the goal isn’t to reach hundreds of billions anyway. It’s to build enough for retirement, security and flexibility in how you live your life.
And at an $80,000 salary with consistent saving and investing, that’s actually achievable.
You may never catch up to Elon Musk, but you don’t need to. Focus on building wealth that works for your life.
Summer spending adds up fast. Enter MoneyLion's Summer Break Giveaway for a chance to win $500 — and give your budget a break. (No pur. nec. Ends 7/4/26. See official rules at mlion.info/summerbreakofficialrules)
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
More From MoneyLion:
