Although he utilized a significant portion of his wealth to cover most of the $44 billion price tag in 2022, he also leveraged bank loans and a large group of investors, the complete list of which has only recently come to light.
At the time, many were impressed by Musk's ability to attract numerous eager investors.
Among these was Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who rolled nearly $2 billion in Twitter shares from his own holdings and those of a Saudi holding company into the deal.
The prince expressed confidence in Musk's leadership, tweeting that he believed Musk would maximize Twitter's potential.
Two years on, Alwaleed remains satisfied with his investment, but for others, the outlook is less optimistic.
Under Musk's leadership, X's valuation has plummeted—acknowledged by Musk himself—potentially halving its worth from the purchase price. Since late last year, Fidelity has consistently valued its stake in X at about 70% below the original purchase price.
Latest figures indicate Fidelity now values its stake approximately 72% lower than when Musk acquired X, reducing the company's value from $316 million to $88 million.
According to a Washington Post analysis based on Fidelity's estimates, the eight largest initial investments, as reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or otherwise disclosed, are now worth around $5 billion less than when Musk bought X. Overall, Musk and his partners' stakes have lost about $24 billion in value—a massive reduction that is rarely seen outside of major economic downturns or severe corporate crises.
Most of the top investors, apart from the second-largest, either declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries for this article.
Both Fidelity and Musk's company, X, also declined to comment.
The investors feeling the impact include business leaders and royalty from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Silicon Valley venture capitalists, and tech investors like Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. Musk financed the remainder of the deal by taking out over $12 billion in loans, which banks have reportedly struggled to offload.
"Elon has destroyed a tremendous amount of wealth since purchasing Twitter," said Ross Gerber, an investor who put in less than $1 million, a stake he now deems worthless. "For anyone who invested in him, explaining how he lost so much money is a tough conversation."
Among the largest investors, Dorsey—whose stake has lost about $720 million—has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction. Last year, he stated that Musk should not have bought Twitter, commenting on social media that Musk didn’t handle the timing well.
"It all went south," Dorsey admitted.
However, Alwaleed, X's biggest investor after Musk, claims that he still values his and Kingdom Holding Co.'s stake at $1.9 billion, the same as when Musk took over. He called this a "conservative" estimate.
"In our records, and personally, we are valuing at minimum the entry level that we entered with," Alwaleed stated last week. "There’s no devaluation whatsoever."
Major investors who contributed $250 million or more were given access to confidential business information, sparking concerns in Washington about foreign entities' involvement and potential access to user data. Alwaleed insists he received no special treatment or influence and said his motives are purely financial. He noted that he and Kingdom Holding Co. receive the same business information as other X and xAI investors.
Alwaleed, who stays in regular contact with Musk, X CEO Linda Yaccarino, and Jared Birchall, who manages Musk's family office, believes external valuations that show significant losses overlook X's investments in xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence venture. Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding Co. have become major investors in xAI.
"When evaluating X, one must also consider their 25% stake in xAI," Alwaleed emphasized. He added that X must focus on generating revenue: "The key now is monetization and bringing advertisers back to X."
As a significant shareholder, Alwaleed initially opposed Musk’s takeover, not due to any issues with Musk but because he felt Musk’s offer of $54.20 per share undervalued Twitter.
"My first conversation with Musk was about my desire to stay with the company," he recalled, explaining that he believed Twitter was worth more than Musk’s offer.
Given that Musk transformed Twitter into a private entity, its real-time valuation is difficult to determine. However, some aspects of its financial state are evident: advertisers, the primary revenue source, have departed following controversies, some directly tied to Musk. His decision to reduce content moderation and reinstate accounts previously banned for policy violations also turned away some advertisers.
The deal has faced scrutiny, including an ongoing SEC investigation into Musk's early acquisition of Twitter shares without appropriate disclosure—a move that might have influenced the share price. Some investors have been subpoenaed as part of this investigation.
Here are the top initial investors in the deal, along with their investment values at the time and current estimates based on Fidelity's figures:
1. Elon Musk
Investment: $33.5 billion (including Tesla shares and personal wealth)
2024 value: $9.38 billion
Difference: -$24.12 billion
Musk and X did not comment.
2. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal (and Kingdom Holding Co.)
Investment: $1.89 billion
2024 value: $529.2 million
Difference: -$1.36 billion
Alwaleed continues to be optimistic about his investment, dismissing external devaluation.
3. Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder and former CEO
Investment: $1 billion
2024 value: $280 million
Difference: -$720 million
Dorsey has publicly expressed regret over Musk’s acquisition.
4. Larry Ellison, Oracle co-founder and board chairman
Investment: $1 billion
2024 value: $280 million
Difference: -$720 million
No comments from Ellison.
5. Sequoia Capital
Investment: $800 million
2024 value: $224 million
Difference: -$576 million
No comments from Sequoia.
6. Vy Capital
Investment: $700 million
2024 value: $196 million
Difference: -$504 million
No comments from Vy Capital.
Binance
Investment: $500 million
2024 value: $140 million
Difference: -$360 million
Binance expressed excitement for Musk’s vision for Twitter but did not comment further.
7. Andreessen Horowitz
Investment: $400 million
2024 value: $112 million
Difference: -$288 million
No comments from Andreessen Horowitz.
8. Qatar Investment Authority
Investment: $375 million
2024 value: $105 million
Difference: -$270 million
The Qatar Investment Authority expressed trust in Musk’s leadership but declined further comment.
Methodology: Fidelity recently valued its initial $19.66 million stake in Twitter within its Blue Chip Growth Fund at about 72% less than when Musk bought the company, a valuation that has remained steady.
The Post applied this 72% drop to the initial investments reported in SEC filings or public comments.