PHOTO: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Billionaire Elon Musk has been in the news a fair amount recently, between his defamation trial and the problematic unveiling of the new Tesla Cybertruck. These stories might have a tendency to overshadow another interesting component of Musk’s doings lately: his ongoing real estate spending spree going back at least seven years, during which he’s spent some $100 million to “buy up the neighborhood,” as a recent Wall Street Journal story puts it.
Musk’s real estate holdings have been largely concentrated between two streets in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. The outlier is located in Northern California near Tesla’s corporate headquarters, and the seven properties have a combined value of around $100 million.
First, there’s the house that Elon purchased at the end of 2012 for $17 million. He purchased the 20,248-square-foot mansion through his Elon Musk Revocable Trust from hedge fund co-founder Mitchell Julis. Later, the house was transferred to an LLC associated with Musk called Callisto, around the same time that Musk decided to begin snapping up multiple properties in the area – a decision that a real estate agent involved with the purchase says was “motivated by utility” thanks to Musk’s large family and staff as well as frequent visitors.
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