SAN FRANCISCO: Being the richest person on the planet is apparently not worth it for Elon Musk.

While his wealth enables him to chase a dream of colonising Mars, pour massive contributions into the coffers of politicians like US President Donald Trump, and feel no financial strain from fathering more than a dozen children, it is not bringing him joy.

“Whoever said ‘money can’t buy happiness’ really knew what they were talking about,” Musk said on Wednesday in a post on X, the platform known as Twitter until he bought it for $44 billion in 2022.

The post, which included a sad-face emoji, had logged more than 66 million views by late Thursday morning.

Responses fired back at Musk varied from sympathy to derision, with some recommending he seek solace in religion or philanthropy.

“But it certainly gives you a head start,” a reply from the account of Charmane Harbert said of the correlation between wealth and happiness.

“Are you worried about how you’ll keep a roof over your kids’ heads?...Nope?...Then stop pouting and count your blessings.”

Musk’s net worth is listed at $668bn, and late last year Tesla shareholders approved a performance-based compensation package for him as chief executive that could be worth as much as $1 trillion.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2026