“Homeless billionaire” Elon Musk: $837 billion and just one towel in the shower

It may sound paradoxical: Elon Musk, the world’s richest person with a fortune of $837 billion, prefers to live at the extreme end of simplicity. His home in Boca Chica, Texas, near SpaceX’s launch facility, is valued at just $50,000, and the interior is astonishingly minimalist: one towel in the shower, an empty fridge, and a garage bed for his mother.

Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, shared details of her son’s living conditions in a recent X post. She described the sparse setup: “There’s no food in the fridge. The garage where I slept is on the right. The shower has only one towel — I left it for Elon. That was fine with me. When I was a child, I could spend three weeks in the Kalahari Desert without a shower. Sometimes without water at all. I think my parents were preparing me for such ‘luxury.’”

Even for the Musk family, the comforts of a typical home—guest rooms, fresh towels, or a fully stocked fridge—aren’t a priority.

According to the New York Times, Musk previously owned a sprawling family compound near Austin for his children and their mothers, though he later denied this. Today, his focus is on Tesla, SpaceX, and his AI startup xAI, rather than cozy interiors or home decor.

A closer look at the Boca Chica house shows a bare, open-plan layout with white kitchen cabinets, a basic stainless-steel fridge and stove, a farmhouse-style sink, a plain dining table with chairs, and minimal decoration. The only standout items are a large rocket sculpture and a Japanese katana with a patterned handle. Everything else appears standard, almost ascetic, considering Musk’s extraordinary wealth.

Interestingly, Musk does not own a superyacht, unlike many fellow billionaires. His private jet is used solely for work—traveling between Tesla factories and SpaceX facilities.

Musk has adhered to this minimalist lifestyle for several years. In May 2020, he announced he was selling nearly all of his real estate holdings, including seven California homes valued at around $100 million. His philosophy is simple: “The less you own, the more freedom you have.”