Elon Musk’s Mom Recalls Buying His Only $99 Suit As Billionaire-Turned-Trillionaire’s Early Struggles Resurface: ‘He Was Fine With That’

As Elon Musk’s fortune continues to draw global attention, his mother, Maye Musk, is revisiting a story from his early adulthood that paints a far different picture of the world’s richest entrepreneur.

Maye Musk Shares New Details About Elon Musk’s First Suit

Earlier this week, Maye Musk responded to a social media post featuring a 1990 photograph of a young Elon Musk wearing his first suit.

The original post shared that Musk owned only one $99 suit and wore it to work every day because he could not afford another.

Maye Musk added details, writing, “I need to add, with the suit came a free tie, free shirt, and free socks. We just needed to find inexpensive shoes. That’s all I could afford. He was fine with that.”

From A Toronto Apartment To A Trillion-Dollar Fortune

The story is not new. In 2024, Maye Musk shared the same photograph and recalled that it was taken in their rent-controlled Toronto apartment.

Maye has previously spoken about raising her children as a single mother while living modestly in Canada. In a 2018 interview, she said the family lived in a rent-controlled apartment and gradually furnished their home as finances allowed.

Today, Musk’s financial standing looks dramatically different. The CEO of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX became the world’s first trillionaire earlier this month following SpaceX’s public debut, which valued the rocket company at nearly $2 trillion.

Musk owns roughly 38% of SpaceX, including options. According to Forbes, he currently has a net worth of $1.2 trillion.

Debate Over Elon Musk’s Upbringing Continues

The resurfaced story also comes amid ongoing speculations over Musk’s upbringing and longstanding claims that his family benefited from an emerald mine investment.

Both Elon and Maye Musk have repeatedly disputed those allegations. Musk has previously said he grew up in a “lower, transitioning to upper, middle-income situation” and did not receive significant financial support from his father after high school.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo Courtesy: Frederic Legrand – COMEO on Shutterstock.com