The donation would make him the second largest charitable donor in 2022, according to a ranking of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which was compiled before Musk’s filing. The Chronicle’s ranking lists Bill Gates as No. 1 with $5.1 billion in donations, followed by Michael Bloomberg at $1.7 billion. Musk’s net worth at the end of 2022 stood at $137 billion, according to Forbes’ real time billionaire tracker, so the $1.9 billion represented about 1.4% of his net worth at that time.
6% of Musk’s stake in the company at the end of last year when considering both shares he held outright and the vested options he holds to purchase additional shares. Since the end of the year he had another 25.3 million options vest when the company achieved certain financial goals, a grant the company had already said was probable to take place. So Musk made the donation knowing that he would soon receive options to buy twice a many shares at a nominal price.