Elon Musk's Year In Review: Becoming World's Richest Person To Conquering Space

SpaceX and Tesla's founder Elon Musk had one of his biggest years in 2021. From becoming the richest person on Earth to winning the contentious NASA moon lander contract, Musk has achieved a lot this year.

Reuters

Here are some of the highlights from Elon Musk's illustrious year. The billionaire's feats are as follows.

Richest person on Earth

Elon Musk left other billionaires behind to become the richest person on Earth in 2021. While the title didn't stick with Musk for long, he held on to it for most part of the year. According to Forbes, Musk is now the second-most rich person on Earth - with a net worth of $151 billion, behind only Amazon and Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos - who has a net worth of $177 billion. On paper, Musk is expected to be worth over $244 billion, making him the richest person on Earth.

Also read: Elon Musk Thinks Civilisation Will End, If World's Population Doesn't Increase

Paying most taxes ever

AFP

A lot of advocates for climate change and equality have been pressurising governments to make billionaires pay their fair share of taxes like ordinary citizens. This year, Musk paid the most taxes in history and bragged about it on Twitter too.

For those wondering, I will pay over $11 billion in taxes this year

¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2021

An investigation by ProPublica earlier this year showed how Musk and other billionaires paid no federal taxes in 2018. Hold off the fireworks, Mr. Musk!

Hosting Saturday Night Live

For any entertainer, hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live means they've finally made it. What does it mean for the world's richest person? We can't be sure. It sure means that our billionaires are also now our icons. The face of Tesla and SpaceX hosted SNL in May this year. A glimpse below.

Also read: Elon Musk's TIME Magazine¡¯s Person Of The Year: Five Reasons Why He Won

Time's Person of the Year

AFP

Becoming Time's Person of the Year is a big deal. It's essentially the acknowledgment of one's impact on popular culture globally. Elon Musk was named 2021 Time Person of the Year, beating out big names like Britney Spears. Musk is credited for revolutionising the auto industry by mainstreaming electric vehicles.

Winning $3 billion NASA contract

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After suffering setbacks, (mostly due to interference by nemesis Jeff Bezos) NASA's moon lander mission was delayed because they couldn't decide who to award it to. When SpaceX won the contract, Bezos' Blue Origin filed a legal motion to counter it.

In the end, things worked out for SpaceX and Elon Musk and SpaceX is set to carry astronauts to the Moon.

Starlink launched 900 new satellites

Elon Musk's ambitious satellite-based internet called Starlink is nearing reality - with 900 new satellites launched just in 2021. With this, the company is getting closer to establishing a network of satellites that, according to Musk, will provide internet connectivity even to the most remote regions on Earth.

Also read: Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey's Twitter War: Web 3.0 Already Lost To Capitalism?

Taking astronauts to ISS

Anadolu Agency

SpaceX and NASA have been partnering heavily this year. SpaceX sent eight astronauts to the International Space Station this year.

The most recent batch of astronauts were delivered to ISS aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. It carried the following astronauts ASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer who will stay there for six months.

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