Musk says it’s because philanthropy is difficult.
“I agree with love of humanity, and I think we should try to do things that help our fellow human beings,” he told Nikhil Kamath for the WTF podcast in an episode published Sunday. “But it’s very hard.”
“The biggest challenge I find with my foundation is trying to give money away in a way that is truly beneficial to people,” he added. “It’s very easy to give money away to get the appearance of goodness. It is very difficult to give money away for the reality of goodness. Very difficult.”
Although he claimed “I don’t want my name on anything,” his namesake Musk Foundation was established in 2002. It largely supports many of Musk’s own personal interests, like renewable energy, human space exploration, pediatric research, and science and engineering education.
The Times gave the example of a $20 million donation to Cameron County schools in Texas after a SpaceX ship had blown up there, as well as $10 million to the city of Brownsville for downtown revitalization. Between 2020 and 2024, Musk seeded the charity with tax-deductible stock donations worth more than $7 billion at the time, according to the report.
Representatives for Musk didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Scott has made several record-breaking donations this fall to HBCUs, disaster recovery organizations, and other education-related causes. Her philanthropic style is unique in that she typically makes unrestricted gifts, meaning recipients can use the funding however they choose without any strings attached.
