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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Arwa Mahdawi

Doubt that Elon Musk ‘earned’ his trillion? Rightwing media says you’re in an ‘impotent envy cult’

A man wearing a SpaceX hoodie looks up
‘Does Musk’s trillionaire status reflect the United States’ dangerous shift into oligarchy and staggering inequality?’ Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

For 12 glorious days in June, Elon Musk experienced something nobody else in the history of humankind has ever experienced: trillionaire status.

Did all those zeros make Musk happy? Did the army of children he has sired love him more? Did he find inner peace? We’ll never know because Musk was dragged back to being a boring old billionaire last Wednesday, after shares in Tesla and SpaceX plunged amid a broader tech sell-off.

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