Public opinion was surprised by Grimes’ admission that Elon Musk – the richest billionaire in the world with assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars – once lived in extreme “poverty”.

In a 2022 interview with Vanity Fair, singer Grimes suddenly revealed that she and the world’s richest billionaire Elon Musk had just welcomed their second baby. The baby girl, named Exa Dark Sideræl, was born via surrogacy in December 2021. 

Previously, Elon Musk and Grimes had a son named X Æ A-12, who is now 22 months old. The shocking news surprised the public because everyone previously thought that Musk’s relationship with his girlfriend had come to an end.

However, what surprised the public the most was Grimes’ own admission that Elon Musk – the richest billionaire in the world with assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars – once lived extremely “poor”, even “below the poverty line”.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, the singer said that while they were still living together, she accidentally discovered a hole in the mattress in her bedroom. However, instead of buying a new one, Musk suggested taking the old mattress from Grimes’ house to replace it to save money.

“He doesn’t even buy himself a new mattress,” Grimes said. “He doesn’t live like a billionaire, sometimes he lives below the poverty line. I sometimes wonder if it’s okay to live in a $40,000 rental house with no security. The neighbors are free to film us. I ate peanut butter for eight days straight.”

In May 2020, Musk tweeted that he had sold all his possessions and pledged to “own no home.” The billionaire said that selling off his real estate was a way for him to quickly realize his goal of conquering space and raise as much capital as possible. Therefore, Musk decided to live in a small prefabricated house of only about 30 square meters, rented by SpaceX.

“The house I live in at Boca Chica/Starbase is worth about $50,000. I rent it from SpaceX,” Elon Musk previously shared on Twitter, adding that the house is located in a town in Texas, near the Mexican border and SpaceX’s rocket launch site. It is unclear whether the billionaire still lives in this modest house, as there have been recent reports that Musk is building a luxury compound for his extended family. 

Previously, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Grimes admitted that living with Elon Musk before made her feel like she was “stuck between two worlds”:

“People say I’m a class traitor, but that’s not necessarily wrong.”

However, despite Elon Musk’s confusing lifestyle and behavior, the singer still hopes that those who dislike Musk will at least respect his work, achievements, and contributions.

“Musk may say some stupid things, but he always does the right thing,” Grimes said, adding of their ambiguous relationship: “There are no words to describe it. I like to call him my boyfriend, but it’s not a commitment. We live in different houses and we’re best friends and we see each other all the time. We still share things with each other and I don’t expect other people to understand our relationship.”

Previously, in a 2015 interview on the Startalk podcast, Elon Musk also made statements that surprised the public and the media, that during his time studying at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, the richest billionaire on the planet spent only $1/day.

“My living needs were pretty low back then. I thought I could live in a shabby apartment with just a computer and not starve to death.”

Musk said that when he was young, he was only interested in things that were considered the future of humanity, such as electric cars, solar energy and sustainable consumption. Therefore, immediately after moving to Canada, Musk tried to spend as economically as possible.

“Buying food in bulk at the supermarket is cheaper, although you may get tired of the sausages and oranges after a while. Noodles and green peppers are also things I buy regularly.”