Kimbal Musk’s Net Worth: Breaking Down the Fortune of Elon Musk’s Younger Brother

Kimbal Musk, the brother of Elon Musk, wears many hats, figuratively and also literally! While the elder Musk’s visionary endeavours with Tesla, twisted romantic life and controversial Twitter outings often steal the spotlight, the younger Musk has quietly built a remarkable business empire of his own. As a successful entrepreneur, restaurateur and investor, Kimbal Musk has carved out a niche in both the culinary and tech worlds, amassing a substantial net worth and earnings.

From his early days as a restaurateur in New York City to his current ventures in sustainable food and clean energy, Kimbal’s diverse portfolio has yielded impressive monetary returns. As a board member of Tesla and SpaceX, he’s also financially benefited from his elder brother’s groundbreaking tech innovations. 

In 2024, Kimbal Musk’s net worth is estimated to be nearly half a billion. But how did he accumulate this wealth? What investments and ventures have contributed to his venerable success? And how does his financial trajectory compare to his iconic brother Elon’s? 

Here’s everything you need to know about the younger ‘Musk’eeter and his massive fortune.

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Who is Kimbal Musk? All about his early life

Born Kimbal James Musk on 20 September 20 1972, in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa, he is the son of Errol Musk, who ran an engineering firm and the model and dietitian Maye Musk. Kimbal grew up with two siblings: his brother Elon and sister Tosca, and he is also related — first cousin — to the co-founder of SolarCity, Lyndon Rive. After finishing high school, Kimbal relocated to Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where his brother Elon was residing. He pursued a Business degree at Queen’s University, graduating in 1995, and during his time there, he worked at Scotiabank.

Kimbal Musk’s entrepreneurial beginnings with brother Elon Musk

Better known as the brother of Elon Musk and often seen donning a cowboy hat, Kimbal’s biography on the Tesla website mentions that he is an entrepreneur, activist and chef. But his career started on a different path. In 1994, he kicked off a residential painting Business in partnership with College Pro Painters. The next year, he teamed up with Elon to establish Zip2, an online city guide. This venture supplied content for the digital editions of major publications like the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times, and in 1999, it was sold to computer company Compaq for a whopping USD 307 million. 

Elon made USD 22 million from the deal, while Kimbal earned USD 15 million. After selling Zip2, Kimbal turned his attention to investing in emerging Technology and software firms, including Elon’s online financial services venture, X.com (not to be confused with the present-day rebranded Twitter), which later merged with PayPal. In 2002, eBay acquired PayPal for USD 1.5 billion in stock. The same year, Kimbal launched Nova Sky Stories, a company which creates drone light shows. 

Later, the entrepreneur went on to become the CEO of the advertising network OneRiot from 2006 until 2011 when it was acquired by Walmart-Labs. Then in 2016, he co-founded Square Roots, an urban farming company that grows food in hydroponic, indoor, climate-controlled environments and shipping containers. 

His restaurant empire and culinary ventures

Kimbal Musk is the founder of The Kitchen Restaurant Group, which operates in Illinois and Colorado and is a massive contributor to his earnings. After relocating to New York City, he enrolled at the French Culinary Institute. In 2004, he launched The Kitchen, a community bistro in Boulder, Colorado, alongside his then-wife, Jen Lewin, and chef Hugo Matheson. The Kitchen has earned spots on ‘America’s Top Restaurants’ lists from magazines like Gourmet, Food & Wine, Zagat’s and the James Beard Foundation. 

In 2011, he introduced Next Door American Eatery, a fast-casual dining option in downtown Boulder. By 2019, this concept had grown to 10 locations. 

 

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He also launched his cookbook ‘The Kitchen Cookbook: Cooking for Your Community’ in March 2024. Kimbal mentioned during his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that the cookbook aligns with his ultimate goal of community building since gathering around the table opens people up, sparks meaningful connections and builds community.

Kimbal also served on the board of Chipotle Mexican Grill between 2013 to 2019.

Big Green: His sustainable energy-saving venture 

Kimbal Musk also adds to his earnings with his eco-friendly initiative, Big Green, which focuses on sustainable energy and food production. After dedicating seven years to the Growe Foundation, which created gardens in Boulder schools, he founded The Kitchen Community, later renamed Big Green. 

As the chairman and co-founder, Musk has overseen the establishment of over 700 “Learning Gardens” in schools nationwide. For the past 12 years, Big Green has empowered individuals to cultivate their own food through garden-based education, innovative garden products, and a supportive community. Their extensive network of Learning Gardens promotes gardening in homes, schools, and communities across the country. Additionally, each Kitchen location contributes a portion of its sales to fund the creation of Learning Gardens in nearby schools. 

In 2012, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel supported the cause with a USD 1 million donation to start 80 Learning Gardens in local Educational institutions. 

Musk is also a co-founder of Square Roots, an urban farming venture that utilises modular, stacking hydroponic systems to grow food.

The earnings of Kimbal Musk and his involvement with Tesla and SpaceX

 

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Kimbal Musk served as a director at SpaceX, founded in 2002 by his brother Elon Musk, until January 2022, as noted in a Tesla proxy filing, which also added to his earnings. A director at Tesla Inc., he possesses nearly 1.5 million shares of Tesla, valued at over USD 350 million. 

Prior to Tesla’s 5-for-1 stock split in August 2020, Kimbal held 130,000 shares. After the split, his holdings increased to 572,000 shares. On 8 January 2021, when Tesla’s stock reached USD 880, Kimbal’s equity in the company was estimated at USD 503 million.

In August 2023, Tesla underwent another stock split, this time at a 3-for-1 ratio, resulting in Kimbal owning 1.7 million shares. By June 2023, when Apple’s stock price surged to USD 250, reflecting a 90% increase since the start of the year, Kimbal’s stake was again valued at around USD 500 million.

Recently, however, Kimbal has sold a considerable amount of his shares in the electric vehicle manufacturer. A recent filing indicates that he sold 63,385 shares on 1 November 2024, earning approximately USD 15.1 million, with sale prices ranging from USD 247.318 to USD 253.78 per share. 

Additionally, he exercised options to purchase 15,000 shares at USD 24.73 each, totalling USD 370,950. After these transactions, Kimbal now directly holds 1,563,220 shares at Tesla, which is less than 1% of the company’s total shares. 

So, what is the net worth of Kimbal Musk in 2024?

Celebrity Net Worth estimates Kimbal’s net worth to be over USD 500 million in 2024.

Kimbal Musk’s relationships and personal life

Kimbal Musk’s personal life has seen some significant changes over the years. He tied the knot with American installation artist Jen Lewin in 2001, and they have three children together: Luca, Stella, and August Musk. However, their marriage ended in divorce in 2010. 

In 2018, Kimbal found love again and married Christiana Wyly, an environmental activist. The latter is the daughter of former billionaire Sam Wyly. It’s worth noting that Wyly was a billionaire until 2010, but he faced bankruptcy in 2014 after being charged with multiple counts of fraud by the SEC and IRS.

His television appearances and other achievements

Like his mother, who is a model, and his filmmaker sister, Kimbal has enjoyed his moments in the spotlight on television. He has made guest appearances on shows such as Risk Takers (2011), 60 Minutes (2014), Chelsea (2016), Couple Thinkers (2017), Megyn Kelly Today (2018), Today (2019), Chopped (2019), and To Dine For with Kate Sullivan (2021). 

In 2018, he was honoured by the World Economic Forum as a “Global Social Entrepreneur of the Year.” 

Additionally, Kimbal has emerged as a social media star, with his Instagram account attracting 202K followers. He often uses his popularity and platform to champion sustainability and energy-saving causes.

(Hero and feature image: Courtesy: Instagram/Kimbal Musk)

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India