According to a LeeDaily article, Time Magazine named Elon Musk “Person of the Year” last week, championing him as an example of moderation, titling the piece, “Richest Man in the World Doesn’t Own a Home.”
This has become a core theme of Musk’s public persona, declaring he was “selling almost all physical possessions” earlier this year. The billionaire “altruist” relocated Tesla’s headquarters to the Austin outskirts. He moved into a “~50k house in Boco Chica/Starbase that [he] rents from SpaceX.” He described the small Mexican border-town home as “kinda awesome though.”
But it cannot be anywhere near as nice as the $18 million Austin estate he has been staying in for the past year, owned by his friend “Kenny.”
Ken Howery is a long-time friend of Musk’s, as well as the co-founder of Paypal Holdings Inc., of which Musk was an executive during his early career. Howery also co-founded the FoundersFund – a venture capital firm – with Peter Thiel.
The three are known as the “Paypal Mafia.”
Howery has been touring the world and chasing inclement weather as a hobby, leaving his home unoccupied and available for Musk.
The property has 8,000 square feet of indoor space and extends nicely into the Colorado River. The estate sports a waterfront pool, jacuzzi, and private boat slip. The property is part of a guarded, gated community called Watersedge and sits at the base of Mount Banner.
Howery claims Musk stayed, only occasionally.