Elon Musk took the business world by surprise.
In just a few months, he became the most powerful and influential CEO in the world, involved in at least five companies -- Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter, Neuralink and Boring Co.
Besides the corporate world, Musk has also expanded his influence in politics and geopolitical affairs to the point where he has become something of a global CEO.
Musk sees himself as not just an entrepreneur but as an innovator determined to leave his mark on the world. He therefore gets involved in all the problems he considers urgent for humanity.
In doing so, he has raised his profile to the point where both his professional actions and his private life are extensively covered by the media.
The Alleged Affair
Musk also sees himself as an influencer. He wants to establish a direct link with the people and does not hesitate to publicly declare his emotional state and the difficult times he is going through.
Last summer, an article in The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk allegedly had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google (GOOGL) Co-Founder Sergey Brin, in December 2021 in Miami.
This brief alleged affair ended the friendship between the tech tycoon and Brin, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Brin, who filed for divorce in January 2022, told his advisers to sell all his personal investments in Musk's businesses, the WSJ reported. Brin had been a supporter of Tesla amid the financial crisis of 2008. The newspaper did not say whether Brin's stakes in Musk's companies had been sold and how much they amounted to.
Shanahan, who is an attorney, is asking for $1 billion in the divorce, despite there being a prenup, the WSJ reported at the time.
Hours after the WSJ article was published, Musk took to Twitter, denying he ever had an affair with Shanahan and claiming that the article was a "character assassination." He also said that he was still friends with Brin.
"This is total bs," Musk reacted on Twitter on July 24. "Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night! I’ve only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic."
Brin Sold Tesla Shares
Several months after the reports and denials, Bloomberg News, citing filings with the Internal Revenue Service, reports that Brin sold a large block of Tesla shares.
The $366 million sale of Tesla shares was completed over four days beginning Dec. 14, 2021, during the time of the alleged affair between Musk and Brin's wife.
Tesla’s stock was trading at around $319 at the time Brin sold. The electric vehicle maker's stock is currently trading at around $165, after a nightmarish 2022, marked by a 65% stock-price plunge.
The money raised from this sale was used by Brin to create Catalyst4, a nonprofit specializing in health and climate change. The nonprofit is "supporting breakthroughs in the treatment of neurological disease/disorders, and in efforts to mitigate and reverse the effects of climate change."
The creation of Catalyst4 allows Brin to obtain tax breaks and increase his political influence.
Brin is the 10th richest person in the world, with a net worth valued at $93.2 billion as of April 23, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
