Elon Musk would need to spend $27 billion a year for 30 years to run out of money, report finds

The scale of billionaire wealth can be difficult to understand until it is translated into spending.

Based on his estimated fortune, Elon Musk could reportedly spend $27 billion every year for 30 years before running out of money.

For families struggling to cover rent, groceries, and utility bills, that figure is more than shocking. It is a stark reminder of how far extreme wealth can sit from the financial realities many people face every day.

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Using a Forbes estimate of $817.2 billion, cited by MoneyLion, Musk's fortune would last 817 years at a rate of $1 billion spent per year, with about $200 million still remaining.

The report also highlighted Jeff Bezos, whose net worth was estimated at $257.3 billion, as another case of wealth so large that routine spending would barely chip away at it.

Citing 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average household spent $78,535 a year, while households in the top fifth spent $150,342 on average. Their average income was $316,100.

For households at the bottom of the income range, average income was $18,460, while spending averaged $35,046.

Those figures show that higher earners, on average, spent less than half of what they earned, while lower-income households spent more than they earned.

Chad Cummings, a Certified Public Accountant and lawyer at Cummings & Cummings Law, explained that enormous fortunes are often tied up in assets rather than cash.

"What this means is that a person can be very wealthy 'on paper,' but have little-to-no liquidity," he said.

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Net worth differs from money sitting in a checking account, and Cummings noted that selling major assets "can trigger tax, disclosure, market, and governance consequences."

Musk is one example of that dynamic. According to Livemint, only about 0.1% of his total wealth may be held in cash and cash equivalents — still more than $8 billion, but only a small share of his total wealth.

The BBC reported that Musk has described living more austerely after spending roughly $100 million on seven homes over about seven years.

Bezos, meanwhile, has remained a more visible example of luxury spending. Vanity Fair reported that his wedding to Lauren Sánchez in 2025 cost an estimated $10.3 million, and GOBankingRates reported that he owns a $500 million yacht.

Even if those purchases account for only a sliver of his wealth, they reflect a resource-intensive lifestyle at a time when many communities are grappling with affordability challenges.

A large asset total does not always mean liquid cash, and even a solid income can disappear quickly without a plan.

Cummings summed up the scale of elite spending this way: "To use some numbers, a typical ultrawealthy household may spend $20 million to $100 million in an ordinary year without buying a major trophy asset."

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