← All stories

Slideshow · Money

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy

36 min ago

10 Min Read26 Slides
  1. Twenty-Five Staggering Purchases A Trillion Dollars Can Buy
▼ Visual Countdown

From bespoke hypercars and private skyscrapers to nuclear aircraft carriers, space stations, and whole planetary colonies, explore twenty-five staggering purchases an unprecedented one-trillion-dollar fortune could acquire. Each landmark entry is ranked in ascending order by verified price tags and economic estimates.

Swipe or tap ▶ to begin the countdown

©Wikimedia Commons / Palácio do Planalto & Starship

📖 Complete Countdown Guide

All 25 Entries in this Story

25 Highlights · Full Editorial Review
#1

25. Bespoke Bugatti Hypercar

Representing the pinnacle of combustion engineering and coachbuilt exclusivity, custom one-off Bugattis like La Voiture Noire change hands for nearly twenty million dollars. A trillion-dollar net worth could purchase fifty-two thousand of these ultimate collector machines.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Bespoke Bugatti Hypercar
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / M97
#2

24. Leonardo Da Vinci Masterpiece

Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci around 1500, Salvator Mundi stunned Christie's in 2017 when it commanded 450 million dollars. With one trillion dollars, a collector could fund over two thousand art transactions of this staggering magnitude.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Leonardo Da Vinci Masterpiece
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Leonardo da Vinci
#3

23. Custom Megayacht Fleet

Custom-built by Lurssen, gigayachts like Azzam push maritime engineering to its absolute limits with bulletproof suites and twin gas turbines. A trillion dollars could build an armada of sixteen hundred record-breaking pleasure vessels.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Custom Megayacht Fleet
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Mosquetero
#4

22. Villa Leopolda Estate

Originally commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium in Villefranche-sur-Mer, this palatial estate features grand terraces overlooking the Mediterranean. A trillion-dollar fortune could acquire over thirteen hundred world-class private royal estates.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Villa Leopolda Estate
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Mini-Camille
#5

21. Antilia Residential Skyscraper

Owned by Mukesh Ambani, Antilia is the world most expensive private residence outside Buckingham Palace, requiring a staff of six hundred. A one-trillion-dollar wealth pool could build five hundred identical custom residential towers.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Antilia Residential Skyscraper
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / A. Savin
#6

20. B-2 Stealth Bomber Fleet

Engineered with radar-absorbent materials and a flying wing design, each B-2 bomber cost over two billion dollars to field. An astronomical trillion-dollar purse could finance a fleet of four hundred and fifty of these ultra-advanced strategic stealth bombers.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — B-2 Stealth Bomber Fleet
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / U.S. Air Force
#7

19. One World Trade Center

Serving as the architectural anchor of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex, One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. A one-trillion-dollar fortune could fund the construction of two hundred and fifty identical 1,776-foot supertall towers.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — One World Trade Center
Photo: Wikimedia / aismallard
#8

18. Marina Bay Sands Complex

Designed by Moshe Safdie, Singapore's iconic integrated resort transformed the city-state's skyline with three fifty-five-story hotel towers topped by an infinity pool. A trillion dollars could build one hundred and forty-seven of these mega-resort complexes.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Marina Bay Sands Complex
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Chensiyuan
#9

17. James Webb Space Telescope

Equipped with an eighteen-segment gold-beryllium primary mirror and cryocoolers, JWST observes the earliest stars in the universe. With a trillion dollars in capital, a space agency could build and deploy an armada of one hundred premier deep-space observatories.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — James Webb Space Telescope
Photo: NASA / Chris Gunn
#10

16. Large Hadron Collider At CERN

Housed in a circular tunnel deep beneath the Franco-Swiss border, the LHC accelerates protons to near light-speed to discover foundational physics particles like the Higgs boson. A trillion dollars could build one hundred of these colossal subterranean research colliders.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Large Hadron Collider At CERN
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Julian Herzog
#11

15. Gerald R. Ford Supercarrier

As the lead ship of her class, the USS Gerald R. Ford represents the most advanced nuclear-powered warship in naval history. With a trillion dollars, a single buyer could commission seventy-five fully equipped carrier strike ships to dominate the high seas.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Gerald R. Ford Supercarrier
Photo: U.S. Navy / Mass Communication Specialist
#12

14. Channel Undersea Rail Tunnel

Connecting Folkestone in the United Kingdom with Coquelles in northern France, the Channel Tunnel was one of the greatest civil engineering feats of the twentieth century. A trillion-dollar purse could finance forty-seven international subsea rail tunnels.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Channel Undersea Rail Tunnel
Photo: Wikimedia / Flickr user "Between a Rock" :
#13

13. Three Gorges Hydroelectric Dam

As the world largest power station by installed capacity, China Three Gorges Dam required twenty-eight million cubic meters of concrete to erect. An investor with one trillion dollars could construct thirty-one equivalent renewable megastructure dams.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Three Gorges Hydroelectric Dam
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / LeGrandSud
#14

12. Global Social Network Acquisition

Elon Musk acquired the social media platform Twitter for fifty-four dollars and twenty cents per share in late 2022. With one trillion dollars, a buyer could execute twenty-two identical forty-four-billion-dollar social media takeovers.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Global Social Network Acquisition
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Thomas Hawk
#15

11. Panama Canal Expansion Project

The third set of locks project added wider and deeper lanes to the Panama Canal, allowing massive container ships to traverse continents. A one-trillion-dollar fortune could fund twenty monumental continental canal expansion megaprojects.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Panama Canal Expansion Project
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Stan Shebs
#16

10. National High Speed Rail Network

Pioneered by Japan Shinkansen and modern European networks, high-speed rail transforms continental transit and cuts carbon emissions. A trillion-dollar wealth pool could build twelve complete intercity bullet train networks across thousands of miles.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — National High Speed Rail Network
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Laitche
#17

9. Entire Apollo Lunar Program

NASA Apollo program achieved humanity first crewed lunar landings between 1969 and 1972, driving unprecedented breakthroughs in aerospace and avionics. With one trillion dollars, a modern pioneer could fund ten entire Apollo programs from scratch.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Entire Apollo Lunar Program
Photo: NASA / Kennedy Space Center
#18

8. International Space Station

Representing an alliance between NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA, and CSA, the ISS maintains continuous human presence in microgravity. An individual with a trillion-dollar portfolio could fund six full-scale orbital space stations in low Earth orbit.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — International Space Station
Photo: NASA / Crew of STS-134
#19

7. All 32 NFL Franchises Combined

America most lucrative sports league commands massive broadcast rights deals and state-of-the-art stadiums like SoFi Stadium. A single one-trillion-dollar fortune could buy every single NFL franchise outright more than five times over.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — All 32 NFL Franchises Combined
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Anthony A.
#20

6. Commercial Passenger Jet Fleet

The workhorse of global aviation, the Boeing 737 family connects cities across continents with thousands of active deliveries. A one-trillion-dollar buyer could purchase four complete fleets totaling over eight thousand new commercial passenger airliners.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Commercial Passenger Jet Fleet
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Alan Wilson
#21

5. Decade Of Global Cinema Box Office

From Hollywood blockbusters to international independent festivals, worldwide cinema admissions represent roughly thirty-five billion dollars each year. A trillion dollars could buy every cinema ticket sold on planet Earth for nearly thirty consecutive years.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Decade Of Global Cinema Box Office
Photo: Wikimedia / Orderinchaos
#22

4. Global Poverty Eradication Fund

Economists at the UN and World Bank estimate that targeted direct cash transfers, clean water, and basic healthcare could eradicate extreme poverty worldwide for ten years. A trillion-dollar fortune could fund this humanitarian transformation twice over.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Global Poverty Eradication Fund
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Patrick Gruban
#23

3. First City On Mars Infrastructure

Elon Musk long-term goal of an interplanetary civilization requires establishing self-sustaining power, oxygen generation, and habitat domes on Mars. A one-trillion-dollar wealth pool could fully underwrite the initial construction of humanity first Martian settlement.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — First City On Mars Infrastructure
Photo: NASA / USGS / Viking Project
#24

2. Entire US Fort Knox Gold Reserve

Stored securely beneath bomb-proof vaults in Kentucky, the United States Bullion Depository safeguards America sovereign emergency wealth. A trillion-dollar fortune exceeds the market value of the entire nation gold stockpile with hundreds of billions to spare.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Entire US Fort Knox Gold Reserve
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Ank Kumar
#25

1. Every Residential Home In Manhattan

Encompassing historic pre-war co-ops, Central Park penthouses, and West Village brownstones, Manhattan entire residential market represents roughly one trillion dollars. A trillionaire could theoretically purchase every home on the island, becoming the sole landlord of New York City core.

25 Things Elon Musk's Trillion Dollars Can Buy — Every Residential Home In Manhattan
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Benh LIEU SONG

Up Next · Recommended Stories

6 stories