Topline
Tech billionaire and Tesla chief Elon Musk visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday as a personal guest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is speaking to Congress about his country’s war with Hamas, while several Congress members boycotted the address.
Musk watched Netanyahu’s address from the upstairs gallery of the Senate chamber. (Photo by SAUL … [+]
Key Facts
Musk was spotted sitting in Netanyahu’s box in the upstairs gallery of the Senate chamber, according to CNN, and told reporters he was in attendance as a guest of the prime minister.
Musk was seen walking through the halls of Congress prior to Netanyahu’s address and was asked by reporters how much money he would provide for former President Donald Trump’s campaign following his endorsement of Trump, to which Musk laughed and replied, “I think I’ll be spending money on ensuring election integrity.”
Musk’s attendance comes one day after the billionaire announced internet service from his satellite internet company Starlink was activated in a Gaza hospital with approval from Israel, which has been at war with Hamas for nine months in a conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 39,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Israeli authorities.
The Tesla chief, who on Tuesday denied a Wall Street Journal report that said he planned to give $45 million a month to a super political-action committee supporting Trump, denied the story again, saying the planned donations were “ a fiction made up by The Wall Street Journal.”
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Forbes Valuation
We estimate Musk’s net worth at $233.6 billion following a more than $15 billion drop Wednesday as Tesla shares tanked. However, Musk still remains the world’s wealthiest person, ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ($199.3 billion) and LVMH chief Bernard Arnault ($181.8 billion).
Key Background
Musk has had a choppy relationship with Netanyahu. The Tesla chief responded to and endorsed a post from a user on X, formerly known as Twitter, that suggested Jewish communities were hypocritical for condemning antisemitism while “pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites.” Musk responded, “You have said the actual truth,” sparking a wave of condemnation from public figures and advertisement removals from companies like Apple and Disney on X. Musk visited Israel and Netanyahu less than two weeks after his controversial tweet was made, for a tour of a village attacked by Hamas during its Oct. 7 invasion of Israel. Netanyahu also showed Musk videos and photos of the killings of civilians and connected the billionaire with families of hostages taken by Hamas. Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Musk he had a “huge role to play” in combating hatred against Jewish people, according to the Associated Press, also telling the Tesla chief “the platforms you lead, unfortunately, have a huge reservoir of hatred, hatred of Jews and antisemitism.” During the visit, Musk and Netanyahu came to an agreement to only deploy Starlink internet service in Gaza with the approval of the Israeli government.
Further Reading
Protesters Removed From Netanyahu’s Speech To Congress (Forbes)
Who Is Skipping Netanyahu’s Congress Address? Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi And Other Big Names (Forbes)
