Elon Musk’s First Wife Walked Away with Far Less Than You’d Expect — Even After a Lawsuit

Unlike Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, who received $36 billion in their divorce, Elon Musk’s first wife, Justine Musk, walked away with a relatively modest settlement — and even lost a legal battle trying to claim more.

Before he became the world’s wealthiest man and fathered 14 children with multiple women, Elon Musk was married to Canadian author Justine Wilson. Their marriage lasted eight years, from 2000 to 2008, and during that time, the couple had six children — tragically, their first son died in infancy, followed by twins and triplets.

Despite Elon Musk’s current net worth of approximately $364 billion, Justine’s fortune is estimated by Forbes at just $15 million — roughly 1/24,000th of Musk’s.

Musk’s pattern of limited financial support for the mothers of his children has become more apparent in recent years. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that he offered Ashley St. Clair, one of the mothers of his children, a $15 million payment and $100,000 per month in hush money. The deal was allegedly pulled once she went public about Musk fathering her son, Romulus.

A Humble Start

Elon met Justine while they were both students at Queen’s University in Ontario. They reconnected in Silicon Valley in the mid-1990s, where she moved in with him and a few roommates as Musk worked on his first startup, Zip2. In 1999, Zip2 was sold to Compaq for around $300 million, earning Musk roughly $20 million.

He splurged on a $1 million McLaren F1 supercar — which was famously destroyed in an accident. At the time, Justine expressed concern about their lifestyle: “I’m worried we’re going to become spoiled and lose our appreciation for things,” she told CNN.

They married in 2000 and relocated to Los Angeles in 2002. During their marriage, Musk launched SpaceX and invested in Tesla. Justine continued writing, publishing three novels between 2005 and 2008.

The Divorce and Legal Battles

Musk filed for divorce in 2008, just months before becoming Tesla’s CEO and shortly before getting engaged to actress Talulah Riley. During the divorce proceedings, Justine reportedly requested ownership of their house, child support, 10% of Elon’s Tesla shares, 5% of SpaceX, $6 million in cash, and a blue Tesla Roadster.

Had she been granted everything she requested, her net worth would be around $17.3 billion today — placing her among the top 150 richest people globally. But she received far less.

Elon claimed he offered an $80 million pre-tax settlement, which Justine rejected in hopes of obtaining equity in Tesla and SpaceX. Ultimately, she walked away without any shares — largely due to a postnuptial agreement she signed in 2000.

In a 2010 Marie Claire article, Justine admitted she didn’t fully understand the agreement at the time, trusting her then-husband. She later challenged it in court, alleging Elon had withheld information about his company X.com’s upcoming merger with Confinity, which became PayPal. Elon made over $100 million from that deal — but Justine’s lawsuit was unsuccessful, and she was left with significantly less.

What She Actually Got

Elon claims Justine received $20 million post-tax — half in real estate, the other half as a monthly allowance to cover personal and child-related expenses. Records show she sold the Bel Air home in 2011 for $6.5 million and bought another for $4.3 million. If she had invested the profit from that sale, it could now be worth over $6.5 million.

Neither Justine nor Elon responded to Forbes for comment.

Elon’s Relationship Timeline

Soon after the divorce, Elon began dating Talulah Riley. They married twice — from 2010 to 2012, and again from 2013 to 2016. The couple didn’t have children, but Riley is said to have received a similar financial settlement to Justine. In 2022, Riley described Musk as “a great friend” and “the perfect ex-husband.”

Elon has since had three children with musician Grimes and four with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis. He now reportedly wants all his children and their mothers to live together in a walled compound in Texas — part of what Musk calls his mission to “repopulate the planet.”